


Teacher's Assistant

by The_woman_who_was_also_a_mongoose



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bending (Avatar), F/F, Pro-Bending, Republic City, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Weird Plot Shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-09-22 04:34:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9583829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_woman_who_was_also_a_mongoose/pseuds/The_woman_who_was_also_a_mongoose
Summary: Avatar Korra is attending Republic City University on the sly when she meets the intriguing TA Asami.





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written anything like ths before, just consumed vast quantities of fics, sooo. Hope you like it. In my head, this story is going to take forever so I hope you like a ton of backstory.

Korra gazed out at the sunrise beyond the window and groaned. It was nearly 6:00 AM and she had to run at least 5 miles before her first class at nine. Snoozing her alarm clock for “just five more minutes” for the seventh time in a row, she dove back under the covers. In less than a minute, she was snoozing peacefully only to be rudely slapped back to wakefulness by a giggling and fleeing Meelo. 

While angrily attempting to disentangle herself from her crumpled comforter, she tumbled and smacked the floor hard. Groaning, she groggily sat up to blearily gaze around her small room. Currently, she lived on Air Temple Island with the most rambunctious airbender family in existence. Consequently, waking up this unpleasantly was not a rare occurrence. 

Deciding that she was now up--although involuntarily-- Korra shuffled towards her creaky wooden dresser to don her running clothes and grab her shoes. Quickly changing and striding out the door, she passed an innocently meditating Meelo sitting next to Ikki, Jinora, and Tenzin in the courtyard. She flashed him an irritated glare and the I-got-my-eye-on-you gesture until she realized he was actually asleep. Rolling her eyes, she ran off on the narrow path encircling the island. 

As much as Korra enjoyed complaining about her morning runs, she usually enjoyed them once she got started. The salt smell and early dawn light managed to make the morning slightly less evil, and to be fair, her cardio could use improvement. Finishing within an hour, she showered, carelessly dressed, and trooped to the kitchen to join her host-family. 

Sitting at the low square table next to Jinora, Korra greeted Pema while subtly pulling the carpet behind her in order to trip Meelo rushing by. Meelo toppled and was not convinced by Korra’s innocent looking conversation; it was on. 

Breakfast over, Korra stood to rush to the ferry in time for her first class only to be stopped by a stern-faced Tenzin. 

“Korra, please don’t forget you need to practice your airbending this evening after your classes. I understand you want to focus on school and probending, but being the avatar and completing your training is far more important than any distractions,” Tenzin importantly intoned.

Inwardly rolling her eyes, Korra nodded and satirically saluted before running out the door so Tenzin couldn’t catch her for yet another lecture. Grabbing her backpack, she nimbly dodged a falling rack of acolyte robes shoved over by Meelo, and ran out the front entrance hall.

On the creaky ferry over, Korra sat in her usual seat near the prow and watched the city’s towers grow larger as the boat dozily plowed through grey-green waters. If she closed her eyes, the sound of gulls and the chill salt spray could almost lull Korra into believing she was home. She liked Republic City well enough, but she missed clear cold air, fresh smooth snow, and deep glacier blues. But she had chosen to come.  
Even though she, like most, believed the role of the avatar was mostly ceremonial at this point, she had latched on to the idea of completing her training in order to go anywhere outside the cloistered south. Unlike Tenzin, who still believed that the avatar’s role was “extremely necessary,” Korra just wanted to see something new. She agreed to learn airbending with Tenzin, provided she could go to school in the city; which, in her mind, was the easiest way to slip from the old master’s supervision. 

Her first day had been overwhelming. The city was filled with so many colors, smells, and people and Korra was rather confused by the etiquette. There were rules about where you had to stand on the escalator, who got on the subway first, who could cross the street when, and who owned the fish in the so-called “public park.” When she had finally made the commute to Republic City University, she had been shocked by the size of the campus and intimidated by the careening students in their frenetic pre-quarter rush. 

Everyone seemed stressed and no one was very friendly. In the Southern Water Tribe, there had been one small school for all the grades and everyone knew one another. Class had never been Korra’s favorite thing, but she had gotten good grades and scored high on the standardized test she’d taken to get into RCU. Additionally she was a skilled waterbender and had impressed the recruiters who came down to the SWT to scout for their bending team. 

Deciding she’d join, Korra had come a week early to start her training and get settled in. Coach Lin, the fall season coach and Republic City’s police chief, had instantly disliked her. Lin informed Korra that apparently she was bad at everything. Coincidentally, she had briefly met Lin in her police chief role as what Korra like to call the “fishing incident.” Their first meeting had been a contained, yet very disruptive, violent confrontation that had resulted in 4 fish thrown, one hobo named Gommu slightly bruised, and a newly landscaped public park. Eventually, it came down to the fact that Korra couldn’t bend metal handcuffs and Tenzin’s pleading skills, then their meeting was concluded with Korra on her way. 

But that may also have been the reason Korra had to run 5 miles every morning when no one else had to. 

Luckily, per Tenzin’s request (read: begging), Lin had agreed to keep Korra’s identity as the avatar on the down low. So Korra was free to wander Republic City for her first week until today, the first day of fall quarter. 

Stepping off the ferry, Korra shouldered through the crowds near the wharf and up the steep slope to the nearest subway station. She had realized her first day that the SWT was pretty old fashioned, and her baggy blue water tribe clothes were good evidence that she didn’t fit in with the modern dressers filtering through the subway. She had considered getting new clothes, but thought what she was wearing was just fine if a little hot. She had swapped out her fleece hoodie for a blue tank top and left it at that.

Emerging from the subway station nearest RCU, Korra began the short walk through the tree-lined streets around campus. Her first class was environmental science at 9:00 followed by a short break and then Calculus at 10:00. She had signed up for spiritology, a class about the ancient history of the spirits as a concession to her parents and Tenzin, but that wasn’t until 2:00. To assure she would have an excuse to spend as much time on campus and off the island as possible, she had spread her classes throughout the day before bending practice at 3:30. 

As she turned off frat row and onto the campus proper, she was caught in the massive, disorientating rush of students until she spotted a map near the corner of two wide walkways. Thrashing through the sea of bodies and backpacks, Korra emerged to find that her class was on the other side of campus. After a delayed hike, she managed to yank open the door to her environmental studies class and sit in the first open chair she could find. Her partner at one of the many desks in the room was a vaguely familiar black haired guy. He was quite stocky with unruly curly hair, green eyes, and one foot propped up on the desk.

He turned to her as she sat down to exclaim “Korra! I didn’t know you’d be in this class. I guess you also don’t know me, since we’ve never actually talked and all. I’m Bolin! We’re both on the bending team!” Overwhelmed by his sudden enthusiasm, Korra was immediately swept up in a rigorous handshake. Now realizing where she had seen Bolin before, she remembered that they were on different squads on the team. 

“Oh hey, Bolin. I didn’t realize we both had this class…” Korra trailed off.

Ignoring her awkwardness, Bolin plowed straight through, “Yep! I’ve heard this teacher’s great. What are you studying?” 

They talked for a while about their majors: Korra was undecided but leaning towards environmental science, while Bolin was pursuing Geology, which Korra had secretly nicknamed “rocks for jocks.” Bolin’s friendliness was overwhelming, and at first, Korra couldn’t tell if he was insincere, on drugs, or truly just a really nice guy. Deciding it was the latter, Korra started to relax and began talking in earnest. They both mildly abused Coach Beifong, and Bolin remarked on her unusually intense hatred of Korra. Quickly changing the subject, Korra mentioned bending technique: Bolin was working on speeding up his footwork and keeping his stance and so, Korra, offering advice, said, “Ooh, try heavy rock thrusts with plyos between sets, it made my power and footwork so much better.”

Bolin quizzically asked, “For waterbending?”

Korra, realizing her mistake, unconvincingly answered “Yeah, for my water...whips...” and shut up. Bolin, easily accepting her answer, shrugged and turned towards the front where the teacher had just walked through a side door. 

The professor was relatively short with a round face and paunchy belly that filled out a buttoned shirt bound to his pants by wide suspenders. He wore his shaggy white hair long around a set of twinkling, kind eyes. Turning from the white board, he announced, “Hello, class. You can call me Professor Iroh.” He had a slow, calm way of speaking Korra suspected would put her to sleep on her more exhausting training days. She liked him nonetheless, and was quickly engrossed in his lecture. He wasn’t too technical for the first day, and so he mostly mentioned “balance” a lot and ecosystems generally.

Walking out with Bolin after the lecture, Korra heartily agreed that she enjoyed the class. Bolin asked her what she had next, and after she replied Calculus, he shuddered but still offered to walk her there. As they walked, Bolin asked, “So, would it be okay if I had your number? Or if it’s not, that’s totally fine too. It’s just...you’re cool, and I’m cool, so I thought we could...be cool...together sometime.” He blushed a bit, and Korra slightly confused replied, “Sure but I broke my phone”-- a by-product of the “fishing incident”-- “How about you give me your number and I’ll text you when I have a new one?”

Bolin happily nodded until they exchanged and galloped away once she reached her building with a rushed, “Bye Korra, see you tonight at practice!”

Slightly nonplussed, Korra walked to her Calculus lecture and sat at a row near the middle. While waiting for class to start, Korra heard rather than saw a collision a couple rows above hers.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you!” said a female speaker over the sound of books falling down the walkway. 

Picking up a book and a calculator that had tumbled near her feet, Korra heard another familiarly awkward, male voice say, “How could you not see me? Ahh...ummm…?” 

Looking up she saw Mako, a guy on the team and Bolin’s brother, and a girl she didn’t know tensely looking at each other. The girl smiled, and said “I’m Asami, I’ll make it up to you sometime,” then began to walk down towards the front of the class while picking up dropped books. Inwardly laughing at their exchange, Korra realized she still had the girl, Asami’s, stuff.

When she eventually reached her row, Korra stood and uncomfortably rubbed her neck as she offered Asami her calculator and textbook. Examining her for the first time, she noticed wavy black hair framing a pointed chin, vivid green eyes, and a red lipped mouth cast in a pale face. Smiling, Asami’s eyes flicked down to her belongings. Realizing she was still holding her things, Korra blushed and handed them over. Asami left with a quiet “thanks,” and headed to a desk at the very front of the class near the teacher’s desk.

As Korra returned to her own chair, she noticed Mako had plunked down in the seat next to hers with a dazed expression. She knew him slightly better than his brother, since he was actually on her squad on the team, and had internally nicknamed him “Shark-Brows-McSuck-Up.” He was constantly acting serious and attempting to impress the indifferent Coach Beifong, much to the team’s amusement. But he was a hard worker and she liked his firebending style, so she had decided he was altogether okay. 

Sitting down in her seat, Korra waved a hand in front of Mako’s face to get his attention. Suddenly recognizing Coach Lin’s most hated student, he frowned slightly and said, “Hey.”

“Hey, that was some crash,” Korra joked. Scowling in earnest, Mako huffed slightly only to reply, “Yeah. I guess.”

“Sooo, I met your brother in my environmental science class.” Korra tried. Softening slightly, Mako asked how that went and they began to talk about Bolin and the team. Korra found that Mako was far more guarded than his friendly brother, but nice enough if talking about a neutral subject. Apparently he was majoring in law and hoped to become a detective (explaining the sucking up to the police chief) and the bending team was mostly a way for him and Bolin to get through college with scholarships. 

Though Mako was broody, Korra decided his standoffish manner was mostly caused by being pretty awkward. Just as they started to converse with less sticky pauses, the side door to the lecture hall crashed open and the professor strode in quickly.

A strictly dressed woman in blacks and reds stood at the front surveying her class with narrowed topaz eyes and an intimidating stance. Her hair was in a twisted bun with two locks framing her face so neatly it seemed like they were afraid of straying.

“I am Professor Azula, the best Calculus teacher in all Republic City. You will do as I say and perhaps you will pass this class,” she began, “there will be two midterms, one final, homework due three times per week, and no extra credit.” 

She quickly jabbed towards Asami to mention that she would be the TA for the class and she’d teach a tutorial section once per week. She mentioned office hours, but as Korra quickly scanned the scared looks on her classmates’ faces, she assumed not many would be attending. 

Shortly after her dictatorial announcements, Azula launched into a fast paced lecture about tangents and Korra’s hand quickly began to cramp from trying to keep up with her lecture notes. Looking to her right at Mako, she caught his glance and they shared a grimace. 

After class, the two walked out together rubbing out pains in their hands and preparing for a hard quarter. Korra mentioned she had a long break before her next class, and Mako invited her to lunch with him and Bolin. As they walked towards the Student Union Building, Korra recognized the fading figure of Asami the TA and smirked at Mako’s blooming blush. Deciding to mercifully ignore his embarrassment, Korra brought up the team scrimmage approaching in a couple weeks. Clutching to the obvious out Korra had provided, he launched into a long winded strategy he wanted the squad to work on for the upcoming match.

When Bolin saw them he frantically waved and literally jumped up in excitement. Once again surprised by his exuberance, Korra waved back and hurried towards him with Mako in tow.

“Korra, hey! Do you and Mako have a class together too? That’s so exciting! I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Also, Mako, the food here is soooo expensive. Do you guys want to head to Narook’s?” Bolin was speaking too fast for Korra to properly respond, so she just nodded along and allowed herself to be dragged off campus towards a new part of town. Following the brothers’ chatter with a few comments, Korra gazed around the colorfully painted, dirty buildings and tried to keep up with their fast pace through the perpetually crowded streets. 

The people in this part of town seemed far less business-like than in the areas Korra had been to before, and far more seemed to be loitering around food stalls or on apartment stoops. Even more surprisingly, the brothers seemed to know many of them by name, calling out familiarly as they hurried farther down the avenue. 

Stopping at a well-swept storefront with a green awning, Bolin, gestured them inside a glass door dripping with condensation. Korra breathed in the smell of SWT food and could have kissed Bolin she was so happy. Turning to him she smiled brightly and said, “This place smells great!”

Bolin, looking pleased, said, “This is actually my favorite restaurant. It’s really authentic!” 

Judging by the smell, Korra had to agree. Sitting at a booth next to Mako, Korra perused the menu while Bolin chattered on and on about his classes. Eventually, a waiter came to take their order, and Korra joined into the conversation. Apparently, the president, Raiko, was a real dick and both Mako and Bolin had voted for the other candidate. Korra laughed along and related that her dad was actually head of the city council in the SWT.

Their talk stalled for a moment when Korra asked what their parents did only to find that the boys were orphans. Feeling like an ass, Korra blushed and stammered an apology which Mako waved away. When their food came, the moment passed and they all fell to eating. Korra was in rapture. The wide chewy noodles were well adorned with hot chili, seaweed, grilled eel, and a delicious garlic, vinegar broth. Halfway through, Korra noticed Bolin trying to keep up with her rapid pace. Grinning through a mouthful of noodles, she sped up until they were fully and obviously competing to finish first. Mako, rolling his eyes a their antics, carefully selected noodles with his chopsticks and shook his head. 

Finishing at last, Korra and the brothers eventually had to head back to campus for their next classes. As Korra was once again greeted by the sight of Iroh at the front of the class, apparently he was also the Spiritology teacher, she sank into an empty chair near the back. Korra was pleased to recognize some people from her environmental science class but didn’t sit by them, leaving an open seat to her right. 

So far, she was pleased with how school had gone. She had made two friends already, something she had been nervous about, and had already found a good place to eat. Her first few days had left her dubious due to how pushy people had been as she walked through campus, but now she at least knew someone. 

Spiritology was yet again just a cursory class for the first day and so Korra mostly ignored a similar lecture to this morning’s about “balance” until class was over. Rushing to the gymnasium about a mile away after lecture, Korra changed into workout clothes and met the milling team members in the bending arena. Unlike the probending arenas on TV, the college rings were only raised three feet above a hexagonal moat surrounding the platform. Meeting up with Mako and her squad, Korra waved to Bolin across the room. He looked miserable sitting next to Tahno, but halfheartedly waved back. Honestly, Korra couldn’t blame him; Tahno was the waterbender for squad three and a complete asshole. Lin might actually hate him more than Korra and she thought it might be the one thing they agreed on. 

The team had 24 members and four squads of six people, enough to form two sparring teams per squad. Lin used the setup to evaluate who worked well together, and since actual teams hadn’t been set yet, competition was fierce to gain a place at the top. All the three person teams would compete in tournaments, but it was important to be placed with good team members. 

For the most part, Korra enjoyed the large practices but preferred smaller groups. Having six people all bend at each other at once was really messy and Korra had a hard time holding back her earth and firebending when fully entrenched in a fight. Lin was the primary earthbending teacher but she often had different trainers come in to offer fresh perspectives. Jeong Jeong, the ancient firebending master, was almost as bitter as Lin, though twice as old. And Katara, Tenzin’s mom and partner of Korra’ predecessor Aang, had actually agreed to step in as the waterbending coach for a season. The coaches usually walked around the outside of the ring during sparring or took their respective benders away for drills during the practices. As Korra warmed up with squad five, Katara leaned over the railing encircling the ring and smiled at her to Lin’s obvious disapproval. Katara had agreed to keep Korra’s avatar status quiet without argument but still thought it funny how much Korra feared her duties.

Practice was over after two exhausting hours, and afterwards Lin had them circle up to announce that next week squads one, three, and five would be practicing with the MMA team under Coach Bumi for a few days. Lin tried to integrate hand to hand combat in to her team’s training in order to perfect their technique. 

Freshly changed, Korra waved to the brothers quickly then ran to catch the 6:00 PM ferry back to the island. After such a long day, she fell asleep during meditation with Tenzin, something Meelo was quick to point out in retaliation for this morning, and then dragged her feet to the spinning gates to be bruised some more. 

Finally, after scarfing down three plates of food, she was headed to her bed only to be accosted by Jinora who wanted to hear absolutely everything about college. She loved the kids, but she was so tired she couldn't help but pass out as Jinora wistfully sighed about academia.


	2. Integral Embarrassment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos! Here's the second chapter. I got over excited while describing the fighting but it was too fun.

 

The next four days Korra quickly fell into a pattern. She would wake up at 6:00 (voluntarily or involuntarily), run, go to class with Mako and Bolin, eat lunch at Narook’s, where she was quickly becoming a regular, fall asleep in spiritology, and then suffer through practice and airbending training. She spent a little time each day after practice or before school talking with Ikki and Jinora or messing around with Meelo, but she was usually too tired to do much else. 

 

When Friday rolled around, Korra checked her schedule only to find she had her first tutorial section of the quarter. Unfortunately, she didn’t share the same class with Mako since his were on Wednesdays, and so she trekked up to the fifth floor classroom by herself. So far, she had been keeping up with the homework and studying for Calculus, but Azula was still highly intimidating. This week, she and Mako had struggled on the harder problems they couldn’t finish alone during their lunch trips. 

 

Turning into the classroom, Korra spotted Asami at the front scribbling on the board in precise, straight handwriting. She had seen her at the front of lectures but hadn't envied her necessarily close proximity to Azula. At this point, most of the students had moved to sit in the back six rows after Azula had threatened a lazy kid named Ryu by literally lighting his incorrect homework on fire. Her firebending burned blue, and Korra was more than a little in awe of her testy attitude. To Korra’s surprise, Asami had just sighed at Azula’s display and swept up the ashes noncommittally after class. Korra was happy with the 9 empty rows of seats between her and the Professor if it meant she could keep her eyebrows, and she was not particularly eager to trade places. 

 

Though Asami seemed nice, Korra wasn’t taking any chances so she chose a seat at the back of the class. It seemed others had the same idea, and Korra was quickly joined by Ryu and two others at her back table. 

 

As the bell rang, Asami gazed at her reticent class and seemed to sigh; although, Korra couldn’t quite tell from her safe position across the classroom. 

 

Wearing a neutral expression, Asami concisely recapped the last week then set them working on a packet of problems she’d printed. Ryu flinched when she unexpectedly dropped a packet at his desk, and Korra couldn’t help but wonder if she saw Asami smirk slightly as she thumbed through her thick stack of papers. Shrugging, Korra began to work. She'd never particularly liked Math, but had always learned enough to score well on exams. But calculus was one of the few classes she’d ever struggled with. And so, determined to make it through her packet first, Korra began to scribble and parse through her notes. 

 

After struggling through her problems quicker than the people at her table, Korra looked around the room to see Asami leaning over the desk of one of her classmates explaining a problem. Her dark hair waterfalled to one side and her green eyes focused intently. She was talking quickly and softly while solving an example with slender fingers. 

 

Korra smirked slightly when she thought about Mako’s continued embarrassment about their meeting. Recalling the brutal training sessions the three had endured so far this week, she felt grateful she’d met them. She was happier still now that Lin had moved Bolin to squad five and the three practiced together more. Korra was still exhausted from last night’s practice and this morning’s run though; Tenzin and Lin were running her ragged and her airbending wasn’t even improving. Considering her schedule, it wasn’t long before her head was jerking and swaying as she struggled to stay awake. Slouching low into her seat, Korra’s head inevitably settled softly on the table and she drifted off.

 

When the bell rang, she jerked up with the front page of her packet glued to her cheek. Squinting, she saw the two other girls at the table flick their eyes away quickly while Ryu didn’t hide his disgust. Asami had just reached their table whilst collecting packets, and since Korra’s was still attached to her face, she gestured towards the papers swaying slightly against their drool adhesive. In her sleepy haze, Korra noticed for the first time that Asami was actually very pretty. 

 

Realizing everyone at her table was still staring at her and she had math problems glued with drool to her cheek, Korra flung the packet at Asami and fled the classroom sporting a flaming blush. 

 

Korra couldn’t wait for the weekend.

 

After eight more exhausting hours, the school week was over and Korra flopped face-first down onto her bed. Now she knew how Mako felt; that scene with Asami had been mortifying and Korra might actually have to avoid her forever now. Deciding on a plan to change her name and get plastic surgery so she could still go to Calculus, Korra passed out.

 

Tenzin had given her the weekends free, but unfortunately the days blurred faster than she thought possible leading to Monday. She had gone to a concert with Bolin Saturday night and gotten a new phone while shopping with Jinora on Sunday. The concert had been fun but a little awkward. Bolin was nice as always, but Korra was beginning to suspect he was a little  _ too _ nice to her. He’d also seemed crestfallen when she had suggested Mako come. 

 

She might have to shut that down soon.

Bolin was kind, but he didn’t really excite or intrigue her: she just wanted to be friends. Anyway, Korra was far too exhausted to think of extra drama and so she put the Bolin problem on the back burner with a mental note reading “Urgent: Fix Soon,” and left it at that. 

 

Monday crept up; when her alarm rang yet again at 6:00 AM, she stared at a dimly brightening sky and could have cried with dread. Like usual, school dragged on slowly. She had come in as late as possible to Calculus in order to avoid a certain TA, but caught Asami milling outside seemingly trying to avoid someone too. Korra grimaced embarrassedly in a strangled attempt at a smile then rushed into the room. She took her usual seat next to Mako and saw he was also in a fidgety nervous state. There was sweat on his forehead and he was clenching his jaw so hard his teeth might crack. 

 

“Hey Makooo… What’s up?” Korra tentatively ventured. He just flicked a glance in her direction then let out a noncommittal grunt. When Asami walked in two seconds before the bell, Mako seemed to sink into his seat. She had noticed his blushing and stammering last week when he would talk to Asami, but she had just assumed that was because of how they met. Korra was starting to suspect that maybe someone had a crush on the pretty TA. 

 

Asami walked to her seat with her usual blank expression and didn’t spare a glance in either of their directions. After another terrifying class, Mako and Korra were walking out together on their way to lunch.

 

“Sooo, you like Asami, huh?” Korra stated.

 

Mako stammered, “What?! No. Why would you even say that? I uhhh...No. I definitely don’t.” He finished unconvincingly. 

 

Realizing she might need to utilize underhanded measures, Korra threatened, “If you don’t tell me, I’ll let Bolin know you have a secret and he’ll never leave you alone. This is the easiest way and Bolin would tell me anyway.”

 

With a look of mild hatred, Mako contemplated his poor options as they walked. Finally he spat, “I asked her out, okay? And she said no. Happy?”

 

“Aww, buddy. It’s okay, let me tell you what happened to me in tutorial on Friday,” Korra started. After hearing her drool story, Mako seemed slightly mollified and they were able to move on until practice that night. Coach Lin had mentioned that they might be working with the MMA team, but neither Mako or Korra had known that Asami was the captain.

 

It was painfully awkward every time Mako or Korra had to work with Asami. Both of them would become instantly clumsy or throw the wrong punches during drills. Asami’s blank facade was incredibly consistent, but sometimes it seemed that she was exasperated by their obvious discomfort. Korra even thought she caught that tiny half-smile of amusement when they tripped or dropped mitts. No one acknowledged last week’s embarrassing fuck ups and toward the end of practice Mako and Korra were able to act semi-normal. 

 

Hand to hand was actually one of Korra’s favorite practices because it helped her integrate all of her bending styles. When analyzing her teammates, Korra realized Asami and Mako mostly focused on fast, hard strikes, while Korra accidentally betrayed her more diverse training. Initially, Korra had kinda assumed Asami was just a useless, pretty girl, but after some sparring later in practice, she realized this was not the case. Her style was well rounded, although centered on striking, and she was obviously quite athletic. Watching her casually lithe movements, Korra decided she must have been fighting for a long time.

 

Mako and Asami were a good match; their styles were more suited to each other than Korra’s T’ai Chi-like waterbending movements. A couple times, Asami had come too close for comfort during their rounds and Korra had shifted to a steadier earthbending stance or peppered Asami’s guard with fast, hard jabs in the firebending style. Each time it happened, it shook up the pace of the fight and Asami would narrow her jade eyes in re-evaluation. Korra cursed her muscle memory and tried her hardest to stay with one style but she had a hard time sticking with it if she was pressed. The worst incident occurred when Korra was sparring Bolin. He came in for the grapple and, out of reflex, Korra threw him the best way she knew how in a very non-waterbender fashion. 

 

Everyone in the vicinity turned to see the “waterbender” throw the earthbender to the ground with a loud smack. Turning red from embarrassment, Korra ducked her head and dusted Bolin off. To her relief, he seemed more enthused than offended and exclaimed, “KORRA. That was literally the best thing ever. Teach me ALL. OF. YOUR. SKILLS.” 

 

Trying to hold off his questioning and trying not to betray her knowledge, Korra eloquently stuttered, “Well, you know… I ahh.... I have to...get water? Yeah, I need to go get some water. Because I’m a waterbender.” As she turned to sprint to the bathroom, she was caught full force by the narrow-eyed scrutiny of both Mako and Asami. Scurrying off, Korra eventually returned to her place on the mat and tried to pass the rest of practice as inconspicuously as possible. 

 

After, Bumi pulled her aside; he was Tenzin’s brother and he knew that she was the avatar. In his usual eccentric fashion, he told her it might be good to have her spar more waterbenders in order to keep her “top secret mission status on the down low.” Nodding quickly,

 

Korra stomped off to the sauna. She was sick of Tenzin, airbending, her ridiculous training schedule, and most of all, being the avatar. She was constantly conflicted by her role: was she supposed to be some world leader or just fade away into obscurity? Did her desires even matter or would she be constantly jerked from one responsibility to another? 

 

Over the course of the week, Korra became more and more agitated. Tenzin was driving her crazy: she couldn’t airbend and yet she was still doing the same ineffective drills in training. Bolin was starting to agitate her with his puppy dog eyes, and Mako was still his stiff, suspicious self. She thought she noticed both him and Asami studying her more closely on Wednesday when they worked with the MMA team again. Luckily, Bumi had had her work exclusively with waterbenders so she’d been able to avoid any slip ups. Also, she got to beat up Hasook, the most lazy, whiny member of the team: so bonus. 

 

When Friday finally rolled around again, Korra was exhausted. After a painful morning run, she dragged herself to class to sit through another environmental science lecture. Iroh was a good teacher and his subject was interesting, but she hadn’t known how depressingly fucked the climate was. In the South, her parents were always complaining about problems with the environment but Korra had tried to avoid the subject because it always felt like they were telling her it was her job to fix it. 

 

After lecture, Korra stood to leave only to be asked by Iroh to help him carry books to his office. She had noticed that he asked a different student to help him do something every day after class but Korra hadn’t been asked to yet this quarter. Shrugging to Bolin, she shuffled down the stairs to pick up a heavy stack of books and follow Iroh out the side door. 

 

“So, Korra. What are you thinking about majoring in?” Asked Iroh amiably. 

 

Korra shrugged her shoulders despite her heavy load of books, “Well, actually I was thinking about Environmental Science but I’m not really sure yet. I’m from the South and that’s a pretty big priority there so…”

 

Iroh turned to her with a smile and said, “Don’t be afraid to do what  _ you _ actually want to do. So many students are studying to become doctors but would much rather be chefs or artists. I always say, even if you like something somewhat, a half-truth is a whole lie.” Korra nodded. She knew she was at least half-confused but she decided she really liked Iroh. 

 

When they arrived at his office, Iroh pressed an entire canister of loose leaf tea into her hands. “This tea is very energizing, maybe drink some before this afternoon.” Korra blushed; she almost always fell asleep in spiritology but she hadn’t been sure if Iroh had noticed. With a twinkling parting smile, Iroh shut the door to his office and Korra walked off to Calculus with a sheepish grin.

 

Math still sucked but at least Azula hadn’t noticed Korra or Mako, and things with Asami had been way less awkward since they’d all been training together. Surprisingly, the tea even helped Korra stay awake in spiritology. Her day had picked up considerably before their last practice with the MMA team that night. So far, they’d been paired with different members of the team during practices all week but for the last day they were supposed to have an easy spar with a random member of the team. Korra had been praying for a waterbender but, after a quick name drawing, she was placed with an earthbender named Lee. Unfortunately, everybody from both teams would be watching their two short rounds in the ring.

 

After two other matches, an even fight between Mako and an MMA team member, and Asami's one-sided beatdown of Bolin, Korra and Lee slipped into the ring. Lee was skinny for an Earthbender and all sinew. Korra felt confident she could have beaten him at earthbending after watching him at regular practices, but she was really nervous she’d screw this match up. When the bell rang, Korra took a deep breath and tried to focus on just one style. For the first round Korra kept her waterbending form, but Lee’s left foot kept drifting to far in and he was obviously getting off balance when she pushed him back. She just wanted to knock him over already.

 

When the bell rang for the second round, Lee rushed straight into the pocket. She knew he wanted to clinch, so she tried to keep her distance with stiff jabs and kicks. From the outside, he panicked. He was throwing hard, wild hooks Korra was happy to avoid. She knew this fight would have to escalate unless she wanted to become a punching bag; eventually, she saw Lee’s foot wander too far in again. He was retreating after Korra threw a swift head kick so she sidestepped another hook for the angle, planted her back foot, and with a wide stance threw a flat handed blow to Lee’s chest that sent him sprawling. After collecting himself off the ground, Lee shot her a dirty look and said, “What kind of move even is that? I thought you were a waterbender!” Korra glanced to Bumi for help; he swiftly rang the bell and gestured for another pair to hop in the ring. 

 

After practice, Korra fled from the gymnasium and stomped to the sauna. Deciding airbending training could suck it, Korra plopped onto the wooden bench with an angry grunt. Tenzin would be furious, but she decided she was just giving Baldy a chance to practice his “inner peace in the face of adversity” and stayed put.

 

Since the sauna was empty, Korra inhaled a few hot breaths and focused her chi through her lungs to exhale flickering plumes of fire until she was calmer. On the compound, Korra had learned to deal with stress. She was constantly faced with one test or another and was accustomed to high expectations. Trying to convince herself this was no different, Korra closed her eyes and baked in the smothering heat. She was just so frustrated. Korra didn’t want to lie, but if everyone knew she was the avatar she’d be trapped. People would call her useless and blame her for their unfixed problems in the same breath. She’d felt the double standard in the South everyday; at school, her classmates acted like she didn’t exist, while back at the compound, she was lectured of her importance every three seconds. Korra just wanted to know what life was without being the avatar.

 

Eventually, the wooden sauna door opened and Korra saw a hooded Asami through one cracked eyelid. Korra opened her eyes and stiffened up in her seat. Asami was wearing a maroon and black rain slicker over leggings and a sweatshirt while Korra had donned the traditional towel.

 

“Hello,” Asami said politely to break their informal stare-off. “Do you mind if I join you?”

 

Korra nodded the affirmative and leaned back into the wooden bench. Asami’s fight with Bolin had been short and decisive; Korra wasn’t all that surprised Asami had won but was happy that Bolin hadn’t been bothered by the outcome. Stretching out her sore legs, Korra gestured to Asami’s strange outfit and tentatively asked, “Aren’t you hot?” Asami shrugged to explain, “Well, I have to make weight for the first competition of the season tomorrow and that means losing three pounds in the sauna tonight. The raincoat speeds things up.” Korra nodded again and they fell into an aware silence. Asami seemed to be studying her, and Korra felt somewhat self-conscious in her small towel. 

 

After an indeterminable pause, Asami asked, “Where did you train? Your style is hard to pinpoint and you always seem a little hesitant…”

 

Korra gulped. She wasn’t great at lying and something about Asami had her off-kilter. Korra hadn’t been all that discrete the last few days and she knew at least a couple of people had noticed. At least she’d rehearsed this explanation plenty of times just in case, but she still felt terrified she’d screw it up. 

 

“My dad’s part of the city council in the SWT and so our usually family hosts foreign visitors; growing up, I got the chance to learn a lot of different techniques. Sometime’s it’s hard to focus on just one thing, I guess.” Korra rushed out. 

 

Asami nodded slowly wearing a neutral expression. Deciding a subject change was in order, Korra asked “How about you? I mean, where did you learn to fight? You’re really good and you move like you’ve been training since childhood.” 

 

Asami’s keen green eyes studied her for a beat longer. Korra noticed the sweat beading on her pale forehead and even beginning to drip from the sleeves of her raincoat. Droplets fell from her long eyelashes and down her cheeks to run from her pointed chin. Korra glanced away, afraid she was being rude. 

 

“My dad signed me up for self-defense classes when I was six and I was hooked,” Asami said quietly.

 

“Smart guy.” 

 

“You could say that, I suppose.” Korra noticed a tense undertone and dropped the subject. Deciding on a more safe (but still scary) topic, Korra mentioned Azula’s brutal homework this week and asked about Asami’s experience as her TA. Asami shook her head and said, “You don’t even want to know.” Korra pressed for details until Asami told her about last Spring when half of the class failed the midterm. Azula had declared she would challenge anyone who didn’t receive a passing grade next test to an Agni Kai. Everyone passed and Azula had received a commendation from the school.

 

Amused, Korra exclaimed “Oh god, I would not want to face her! Last time I dueled a firebender, I lost my best pair of pants, three inches of hair, and also most of my honor.” 

 

Asami actually snickered out loud. It was the first time Korra had seen her genuinely smile, and she was kinda shocked; usually Asami was full ice-princess. Also, she had noticed Asami was pretty in her sleepy haze, but now wide awake, Korra decided Asami could quite easily be in a toothpaste commercial.

 

“Why would you even duel a firebender? Was this just for fun or…?” Asami asked.

 

Korra replied sheepishly she could actually be pretty confrontational and explained that she had challenged a firebender to a match after he had dissed her favorite probending team. She neglected to mention that he was actually her master at the time and that this match had involved firebending from both parties.

 

Asami just said “Hmm,” and they sat. After a while Korra decided she’d had enough of the sauna and stood to leave at the exact same time Asami, while checking her watch, hopped off her bench.

 

“My fifteen minutes are up,” explained Asami while opening the door for Korra. As she stepped over the threshold, Korra’s towel got caught on the handle to slip down four scandalous inches. Blushing furiously Korra snatched it back up and hoped to god Asami hadn’t seen.This embarrassing shit was getting pretty old.

 

Looking up at Asami’s quirked brows, Korra thought she may not have been that lucky. Scooting back to her locker in shame, Korra began to get changed while Asami stepped on the scale in the corner.

 

Once fully clothed, Korra asked, “What’s the verdict?” Asami sighed and sadly said, “Only half a pound. Looks like another three sessions at least and I might lose some water at night.” Korra made a face. Luckily, bending was not weight class dependent; it usually relied on throwing objects at people instead of your body which made size less of a factor.

 

Asami waved wearily and trudged back to the sauna door.

 

After waving back, Korra lingered for a moment longer before slipping on her moccasins and leaving the tiled locker room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did the raincoat thing once to make weight. It was really awful and everyone looked at me like I was crazy but I lost 4 pounds in 3 hours. It's super unhealthy but you gotta do it sometimes.


	3. Drunk and Running

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Thanks for all the kudos! This chapter was fun to write and I kinda got carried away. Next chapter will definitely start to have more Korrasami. Hopefully it should be out within a week or two. Thanks for reading!

As Korra turned the corner to leave the locker room, she almost collided with Mako leaning against the wall.

 

“Hey,’’ greeted Korra tiredly. Mako paused a moment to reply “Hey. Usually you’re gone by now; this is the first time you haven’t rushed off. Where do you go everyday after practice anyway?”

 

Grimacing, Korra inwardly cursed Mako. She just wanted to forget about being the avatar for five seconds but shark-brows had to be the detective. “My host, Tenzin, insists I’m not ‘spiritual’ enough and makes me do airbender training even though I can’t airbend” Korra replied. At least that part was actually true.

 

Mako doubtingly asked, “And you’re skipping today? That seems irresponsible.” Rolling her eyes, Korra grabbed Mako by the scarf and hauled him down the hallway to go find Bolin. Since she was already in trouble, she convinced the brothers it would be fun to go out. She hadn’t had a chance to explore the city at night and now seemed like her best chance; Tenzin _was_ going to punish her anyway.

 

Bolin happily hugged Korra around the shoulders while Mako shrugged. Leaving the gymnasium, Bolin exclaimed, “Oooh! I know just the thing. Korra, you’ll like this! We’ll just pick up Pabu and be off.” Korra had heard of Pabu before but was surprised Bolin was going to take him out with them. There was no chance to ask more about it before Bolin looped one arm through hers and the other through Mako’s and started chattering about his fight with Asami.

 

“She flipped her hair when she got in the ring and it almost knocked me out right then! I just can’t believe I got to fight THE Asami Sato. She is actually so nice too.” Mako choked. Up until now, he’d been nodding along absently but at Bolin’s announcement his face paled.

 

“Wait, Bo. Did you say her last name was Sato?” Bolin nodded confusedly and Mako pinched the bridge of his nose and stood stock still.

 

“Like Future Industries Sato?” Bolin nodded again and Mako sat down heavily on the ground and groaned.

 

Bolin, quite concerned, tried to push Mako to his feet and off the disgusting sidewalk. “Don’t sit _here_! This is the curb where Gommu threw up two days ago. Bro, don’t die like this.” Mako did not respond.

 

Trying to clarify, Korra told Bolin how Mako had asked out Asami their TA and she’d said no. Bolin shook his head sadly. He then shoved his hands under Mako’s armpits and heaved him onto a nearby bench all while crooning, “It’s alright, Bro. It’s almost better being rejected by a gorgeous billionaire, like, why would you ever expect her to say yes to you, ya’ know? Also, you can’t always be great with the ladies, then there wouldn’t be any left _for the rest of us..._ ” Bolin implied with intent. Mako just covered his face with his hands and flailed on his little bench.

 

Korra was confused, she was also highly amused, but mostly she just wanted to know, “What’s a Sato?”

 

Bolin, still trying to wrestle Mako into a sitting position, said “Oh well, the Sato’s are like these super rich billionaires who own like half the city. Asami Sato is like a child prodigy and her father’s the biggest captain of industry to ever live. Hiroshi Sato actually developed the Satomobile car brand.”

 

After a quick glance at poor little Mako, Korra understood his embarrassment.

 

“Huh.” She said

 

“Yeah…” replied Bolin.

 

Mako just said, “Hnnnrrrgghh,” and rolled over.

 

Back to business, Bolin rolled up his sleeves and pulled Mako up. Taking his left arm, Korra propped up Mako’s other side and helped Bolin walk towards their apartment. Quite cheerfully, Bolin explained, “Mako has his little tantrums occasionally. We’ll just pick up Pabu, head to a bar, and get him good and drunk. That should help.” Korra nodded along until they approached the gigantic sports stadium. The huge half-oval of a building was all ornate, illuminated domes, arches, skylights, and frescos. Bolin started pulling them to a little side-door to the left of the grand main entrance.

 

Shocked, Korra exclaimed, “You guys live here?! That’s so cool! Can you watch probending whenever you want?”

 

Bolin nodded, “YEAH, it’s pretty AWESOME!” Going on and on about all the matches he and Mako had snuck down to, Bolin and Korra hauled Mako up like a million stairs and a ladder. As soon as they reached the apartment, Mako shook them off and walked to the couch.

 

Outraged, Korra managed, “You were fine that whole time?!” Mako nodded and replied, “Yeah. I just wanted you guys to carry me up the stairs, I’m pretty tired.” Panting, Korra literally had no words. Flipping Mako off, Korra turned and nearly screamed when she felt tiny paws scrambling up her leg. This must be Pabu the fire-ferret; his bushy, red tail thrashed happily as he leapt from Korra’s head to Bolin’s open arms.

 

“My baby! How was Bolin’s Pabu-lous boy? I missed you. Next week I can probably take you with me in my coat…” Recovering from her shock and laughing at Bolin, Korra turned to scan the brothers’ view of the bay and the city. Their room wasn’t much more than an attic with windows, but Korra decided she liked it a lot. It was well lived in with a beaten couch, two beds laid near the city-facing windows, a small kitchenette, and a loft reached by a narrow ladder. The boys had plastered probending memorabilia everywhere; some of the posters were signed by famous probenders and there were even a couple of old jerseys reverently tacked to the walls. Bolin, it seemed, was also a big Earth Kingdom action movie fan: he had posters for “Kyoshi Smackdown 6,” “Omashu Slide,” and “Tunnels of Love: a War Story” among others. Mako’s side was characteristically neat with a small photo of their family near his bed.

 

Sprawled out on the couch, Mako, still distraught, stared at the ceiling. Bolin turned with Pabu draped around his neck to say, “It’s not much, but we’ve lived here for four years now. The arena manager hooked us up in return for some odd-jobs we did.” Curiously, Mako shot him a quick glare.

 

Korra nodded; “I lived in a compound down South so this is really cool to me.”

 

Squinting, Mako prompted, “A compound?”

 

“Yeah well, my dad had some political enemies and so I lived there for “safety” while my parents sorted it out.” Korra said shortly. That was one subject she really wanted to avoid. Her eight years in the compound had been a grey, colorless life: training, school, tests, duties, and lessons. She saw her parents Sundays and Katara for training everyday, but she didn’t have any friends. Sometimes she would skip classes but she always had to return to the squat training house for hours at a stretch in the afternoon. A few times, she had actually ran away only to slink back a day later at the most. There wasn’t much joy in being stranded in the Tundra and most people kept their boats under a tight watch.

 

Mako was about to ask another probing question but Bolin threw his coat and scarf in his face before he could get it out. Huffing, Mako grumbled and put them on. Glad the moment had passed, Korra asked Bolin excitedly, “So, where we going?”

  
..........

 

Five hours later, Korra was wobbling away from a hot dog seller, a taxi driver, and the latest bartender as fast as she could with Mako and Bolin in tow. Drunkenly, she decided this _must_ be a misunderstanding. Mako was gazing around like a vaguely interested vacationer, Bolin was giggling madly and clutching the jacket tied around Korra’s waist, and Korra was just trying to escape their pursuers without vomiting on herself. It was a wonder any of them were even standing much less running.

 

They’d started at Bolin’s favorite bar on the same block as Narook’s; after a “few” drinks, Mako had indeed cheered up and dragged them to an even more colorful neighborhood. Literally; there were rainbow flags everywhere and peculiarly dressed people cruising the wet streets. It seemed they were in the gay neighborhood of Republic City. Being queer in the Southern Tribe was not nearly as stigmatized as in the North, but Korra still hadn’t interacted with many out gay people before.

 

But honestly, she was pretty drunk so she barely even noticed who was around. Korra didn’t really have a lot of experience with alcohol (a.k.a. none) but she liked how she felt, whatever this was, and wherever they were. The entire neighborhood sat perched on one of the outer hills of Republic City and so, between blocks and down narrow streets, there were often panoramic glimpses of downtown. The buildings in this section were older and more reminiscent of the early colonies: a mixture of flared Firenation stylings, added to Earth Kingdom proportions, and finished with a distinctly extravagant Republic City poise.

 

Korra noticed none of this as she hugged Bolin and Mako around the necks and took a moment to fully realize how much truly loved these guys. Where would she be without them? Sad and alone on Airtemple Island, that’s where. Tenzin was just an angry, bald man; he hated fun, children’s laughter, and like, life. Korra bet he’d never even been to this cool ass neighborhood, but she had because she was fun like that. She decided that maybe if he wasn’t so bald, Tenzin could be happier and he might actually get off her back for five seconds. After a quick conference with Mako and Bolin, she knew what to do. They stopped at the drugstore and, a little while later, ran giggling into the night clutching bouncing, plastic bags.

 

Swinging her bags happily, Korra really tried to communicate her feelings, “I love you guys, you know? We’re a team….THE team.” Glancing at Pabu, Korra exclaimed “We’re like the fire ferrets team!”

 

Ecstatically, Bolin shouted, “OH MY GOD, YES!” and hoisted Pabu up by his front paws in front of Mako’s face. “He even looks like ussss!”

 

Mako nodded gravely. Tonight he’d been the most emotional Korra had ever seen him and now she thought he actually might be crying: “You know what, guys? You’re right. I just feel so connected to this group, to us. We _are_ the fire ferrets. It’s us three. It really just is.” Korra was sure now that he was actually crying.

 

Bolin thrusted Pabu’s tiny ferret hands into Korra’s and pulled Mako in for a deep hug. “I love you, bro. I love you.”  Korra draped a very patient Pabu on Mako’s head and put her arms around her two best friends in the entire world. They were hugging in the middle of the sidewalk for an uncomfortably long time before Korra broke it up.

 

Somewhere she heard laughing, chattering people and pounding bass. Unsteadily scanning the block, Korra spotted colorful, flashing lights winking from a dim doorway. In her drunken, romantic haze, Korra dragged the brothers straight up to the club only to be stopped by the bouncer.

 

After taking one look at their trashed swaggers, the bouncer, a burly Earth Kingdom man sporting blockish tattoos on ham-like arms, turned them away with a flick of his hand. While Bolin tried to convince him they were the “bestest, funnest partiers to have,” Korra side-eyed the fire escape ladder down the alley.

Eight minutes and two frightened clubbers later, they were ensconced in the pounding music and cloying heat near the dance floor. The club had a retro theme with disco balls, neon signs, pink walls, and the most rainbow flags Korra had seen in one building. Eyes wide, the three scanned the throbbing masses of people writhing around the stage. Bolin gripped Mako and Korra’s arms like a kid being dropped off on his first day of kindergarten. The three had sidled close to the bar until Bolin was pulled into the crowd by a brazen drunk girl and her friends. Mouthing “help me,” Bolin looked to Mako and Korra who were doubled over in laughter. Using poor decision making skills, the two of them ordered more drinks and watched Bolin half-heartedly dance with a girl who looked close to drooling on his taut t-shirt. Korra thought she spotted some frothing.

 

Just then someone yelled, “Mako, you bitch!” Whirling, Korra spotted a dark, petite man stomping through the crowd. Flipping perfectly coiffed hair, he waved a finger in Mako’s ashen face and screamed, “You don’t call, you don’t write! Where the fuck have you been?! Wu has been down!!” Gulping, Mako grabbed Korra’s hand with a sweaty palm and kissed her hastily on the mouth. He tasted like alcohol and fear but Korra was too stunned to move before it was over.

 

“I’m over us, Wu!” Huffing, Wu stomped off back in the direction he’d come with a squeaky sob. Mako breathed a sigh of relief just as Korra’s inebriated brain caught up with recent events. Deciding punching Mako was her best option, narrowly beating flames to the face, Korra turned with a fist raised to see Bolin clutching a bouquet of multi-colored glow sticks behind Mako’s shoulder. Watching his face fall, Korra’s heart twisted. As Bolin cast his glow sticks behind him hysterically, Mako turned to follow, shouting, “Bo! It’s not what it looks like!”

 

Korra following, ran straight into the dingy restroom. As she passed Wu still haunting the entrance, Korra heard him yell out, “YOUR ‘BOYFRIEND’S’ AS QUEER AS THEY COME, SWEETY!” Sighing, Korra decided she’d deal with _that_ mess later.

 

Spotting Mako trying to talk to Bolin over the wall of one of the stalls, Korra heard Bolin scream, “You’re not my brother! You’re a brother _BETRAYER.”_ She watched as he threw streams of toilet paper over the top edge and onto Mako.

 

“Bro, stop! It really isn’t what it looks like.” Mako was desperately ripping toilet paper off himself until he spotted Korra.

 

“Korra! Korra, tell him what happened!” Mako said waving her over.

 

Reluctantly, Korra approached the stall and said, “It’s true, your brother’s an asshole.”

 

Bolin sobbed, “HAH!” and threw more toilet paper.

 

Mako gesticulated “come on” while dodging more paper streams. Nodding, Korra remembered this was about Bolin not getting back at Mako for the bar and said, “He’s such an asshole, and I _definitely_ don’t even like him like that. He was just trying to hide from Wu and he kissed me _which is so not okay_.”

 

Bolin stopped throwing things and opened the stall door a crack, “Really?” Korra nodded.

 

Bolin paused a moment and drunkenly declared, “Well, that’s good because I think your the buffest, toughest, nicest, prettiest, coolest girl on the planet and I really like you!” His hopeful stare made Korra really uncomfortable. Looking into one watery, green eye, Korra felt like she was being confronted by an innocent hippo-cow on the way to slaughter.

 

It was time to shut this down.

 

“Bolin, I think all of those things about you too, but I don’t really feel romantic about you. I like both you and Mako but I guess I just don’t like either of you romantically. I’m really happy we’re friends and I think you’re awesome, but I just want to stay friends.”

 

After a tense five seconds, Bolin nodded sadly and opened the door all the way. Swallowing once, he threw the cardboard center of a toilet paper roll at Mako and lifted his arms. “Okay, fine. But I’m too heartbroken to walk. Please carry me and Pabu now.”

 

Mako rolled his eyes and unsteadily hefted Bolin over one shoulder while Korra lifted Pabu. Once they were back in the club, miraculously Wu-free, Mako put Bolin down and they drank more. If excess crossed a line, Korra thought they had somehow overstepped some other squiggly shaped boundary she hadn’t heard of or had forgotten. The three of them were happily dancing like buffoons, all drama forgotten, until the club closed.

 

As they staggered away, the lanky bartender stuck out his head and said, “Hey! You haven’t paid for all your drinks!”

 

Perplexed, Korra managed to turn and look at him. He was very wavy for someone so serious-y? Serious?, Korra didn’t know. Turning out her empty pockets, she looked at Mako and Bolin. As far as she remembered, they had paid for each drink individually not on one big bill; admittedly, she couldn’t remember a lot right then.

 

“Wu told me you were paying for his party too. Him and those girls.” Realizing Wu was the biggest fucking weasel on the planet, Bolin and Korra also realized they were out of money. After a shared glance, they started running with the bartender and bouncer hot on their heels. Mako was just dragged along, he seemed amused though.

 

As they pushed past other drunk people on the sidewalk, Bolin bent the concrete underneath a hot dog stand so that the cart slid in front of the burly bouncer before he had time to dodge. His bulk crashed into the stand, crushing the little cart and incapacitating him. The outraged hot dog seller began chasing after them too, but since he was a lot littler, Korra decided it was a good trade.

 

They turned the corner to race back down to the wharf district but were confronted by a hurtling yellow taxi. As the cab swerved to avoid them, it hit a fire hydrant releasing a deluge of water. Korra quickly froze the stream, creating an icy, asphalt expanse behind them. As the taxi driver angrily emerged, he was bowled over by their slipping pursuers. He eventually scrambled to his feet to chase after the three as well.

 

Trying to hold down vomit and deal with her confusion, Korra kept running. Bolin apparently thought this was all hilarious but at least Mako seemed to finally pay more attention. Slurring slightly, he yelled, “Korra! This is going to fuck up like my _entire future career_!” Mako led them three blocks further west then pulled them into a nearby restaurant. They had outran the herd by a few blocks and were now back in more familiar territory.

 

Inside the empty Fire Nation restaurant, Mako nodded curtly to the waiter and rushed them to the kitchen. He seemed to know the chef, a large bald man smiling and shaking his head. Pointing Mako and Bolin behind a curtain and down the stairs into a cellar, he waved a “hello” to Korra.

 

Loudly whispering, “Thanks, Koku!” Bolin settled into a small cot near the corner of the dim earthen room with Pabu. Their race through the streets had been sobering but Korra still felt woozy. Deciding she could think things through more tomorrow, Korra leaned her head on Mako’s convenient shoulder and passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got to read the preview comic for Turf Wars and I was so excited I wanted to post this chapter asap. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.


	4. Hungover and Running

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally added in some more Korrasami. Thanks for all the nice comments from last chapter! Please let me know what you think about this one and I hope you guys like it.

Mako shook her awake. Her brain felt loose in her skull and every joggle correlated to a painful throb.

“Wha…? Where are we?” Korra managed through dry mouth. She was dizzy and her head pounded. She also wasn’t sure if she was still drunk or not. She _was_ sure she had to vomit. Squinting around the dim cellar, she spotted a bin near Bolin’s squatting form. It appeared Bolin had already used it.

Making quick work of her stomach, especially after a quick glance inside the bin, Korra slumped back against the wall next to Bolin. Mako was in poor shape too but he was definitely the most alert.

“We’re in the Shaded Magnolia Restaurant. Koku, the chef, has helped us out of some tight spots before.” Narrowing her eyes at Mako’s loud voice, Korra groaned. Whatever they did last night was not worth this fucking headache.

After glancing at her phone, Korra realized is was nearly 6:30 AM. If she wanted to get back before Tenzin and the family were up she only had approximately forty-five minutes. Wobbly standing, she made for the ladder. Stretching her arms to climb, Korra felt the world lurch intensely to the left. The brothers did no better as they stumbled out themselves. Koku was smoking under the awning when they staggered through the door covering their eyes.

“Looks like _some_ people had too much fun last night,” he sing-songed brightly and loudly. Korra took back the few nice thoughts she’d had about him until he whipped out three pairs of sunglasses. The frames were rimmed with plastic, yellow sunflower petals but Korra didn’t care. Shoving them on, she nodded her thanks and lumbered down towards the wharf with the brothers.

They parted ways with a small moment of recognition. Swaying near the pier, the three seemed to wordlessly acknowledge that they were a group. Even the painful streams of morning light and the piercing squabbles of circling gulls couldn’t have made Korra regret meeting them.

Then, after a tight group hug, Korra took the worst boat ride of her life. The sickening slap of waves on the hull, combined with plumes of exhaust and the lolling putter of the boat, made Korra want to throw herself over the gunnel. Groaning, she closed her eyes and covered her ears.

She was totally fucked.

Tenzin was going to _murder_ her. Not only did she skip airbending, she got really drunk and didn’t come home last night. Also, were they in trouble? Korra really couldn’t remember much between all the drama, and Wu, and….oh, shit. They totally were chased all the way from Ginkgo Hill to Dragon Flats and the wharfs. They had crashed a cab. And threw a hotdog cart at the bouncer. And fuck. That would explain the soreness.

When the ferry rocked up against the pier, Korra decided she’d rather just stay put. This boat could be her home now. She really didn’t want to go up the stairs to meet Tenzin’s wrath. When she couldn't excuse procrastinating any longer, Korra managed to combat the roll of the boat and her stomach to step on shore. Sneaking up a rarely used path, Korra prayed Meelo wasn’t up yet. If that little asshole discovered her in this state she was screwed.

She just managed to slide into her room and fall face first onto her bed. Maybe she was safe?

“KORRA!”

Apparently not.

Tenzin marched into her room, his orange robes fluttering around his feet as he yelled, “Dining room, now!” before he swept out. Wincing, Korra rolled off the bed and into a heap of dirty laundry. The first part of the lecture was to be expected: “duty-this,” “duty-that,” “you are the AVATAR!,” etc. When Tenzin got to the questions, things took a turn for the worse.

“Where were you and why are you this disheveled?” He asked with a disgusted wave at her muddy mocassins, wrinkled clothes, and sunflower sunglasses, which Korra just realized she’d kept on through his lecture.

“Well, I uh….I may have gone out to Ginkgo Hill last night with....some people from the team….” Korra said haltingly.

Tenzin looked more purple than usual as he spat, “You skipped your _vital avatar training_ to go drinking?! How could you disrespect your role this way? I am very disappointed! To atone for yesterday, you’re training Saturdays for the next three weeks. Starting today!”

Bowing her head, Korra nodded. Honestly, that punishment wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. She was scurrying from the room when she heard Meelo ask, “Dad, what’s Rogaine?”

Oh. Fuck.

Korra paled as she remembered how they’d ducked into that drugstore last night. At least Tenzin probaby wouldn’t know why she had that stuff she thought as Meelo barreled in grasping her white plastic bag.

“ _Meelo!_ Don’t go through my stuff,” Korra hissed. Meelo stuck out his tongue and said “It has _his_ name on the card!” and pointed to Tenzin.

What.

Tenzin shot Korra a scowl and quickly slit open a yellow envelope. Over his shoulder, she read: “Dear sir, Ur both boring and bald. We hope u become less boring if u become less bald. Here is some Rogaine. Plz use this. The hair dye is for when ur cool. Love the fire-ferrets.” Underneath the card, Korra spotted rogaine, hair dye, and condoms? One of them had also drawn Tenzin with flowing blue hair and a sword. She was so completely fucked.

 

……..

 

The lecture she received had never been more deserved. Pema had talked Tenzin out of his seething rage but she still had to train for six extra Saturdays instead of three. Currently, she was attempting to do a headstand while her hungover brain melted like a crayon out her ears. She’d already been beat up by the spinning gates, an experience akin to being blended and then re-poured into a Korra mold only to get blended again. She’d just managed to balance and was slowing her teetering when Meelo leaned down into her ear to scream “Your _phone_ is RINGING and it’s killing my zen!”

After picking herself up off the ground, she clenched and unclenched her fists. Korra had never believed in murdering children but she was prepared to make a generous exception. Catching her homicidal glare, Meelo's smug, toothy grin disappeared. Shrewdly, he ran away and just tossed Korra’s phone behind him into her face.

Looking down, she saw she’d missed a call from Lin: she’d have to deal with Meelo later. Korra felt her heart pound behind her eardrums as she tensely waited for Lin to pick up.

“Hello?” Korra asked tentatively.

“Hey shithead.” Definitely Lin. “I may or may not have seen some security footage of three lackwits destroying city property last night. I’m no expert, but they looked an awful lot like you, Bolin, and Mako.”

Son of a bitch.

Lin continued, “if you three jerk-offs don’t want to get locked up and kicked off the team, I’d show up at the Central City Convention Center before 3:00 PM.” Then she hung up.

It was already 2:35! Peeling herself off the ground, Korra ran inside to quickly tell Pema the situation and beg her to make up a good excuse for Tenzin. Pema shook her head in disbelief but assented before going back to arguing with Ikki.

Korra didn’t even have time to catch the ferry so she dived off the pier and curled the currents behind her to propel her to shore. Soaking wet, Korra bent off some of the water and began sprinting up the hill once she emerged ten minutes later. As she passed the probending arena, she spotted two blundering figures running ahead of her. Pouring on the speed, she overtook Bolin and Mako.

Mako was wearing a wife beater and boxers while Bolin wasn’t wearing a shirt at all, just a dirty pair of shorts. All three of them had donned their ridiculous sunglasses.

“Korra!” Bolin panted. “Did Beifong call you too?”

Korra nodded and shouted “Yeah! How the heck are we going to get there in the next 15 minutes?”

Mako directed them through a narrow alley then down a dank sewer grate: “Shortcut!”

After 10 dingy minutes, they popped out of another grate near the convention center. Korra was continually amazed by the brothers’ knowledge of the streets and was starting to suspect there was something they weren’t telling her.

Bursting into the building, they spotted Beifong talking with Asami. They were all a mess. Korra had left the island wearing only her chest, feet, and hand wraps over pants, Bolin and Mako were only in their underwear, and now all three of them were panting and filthy from their run through the sewers.

“Wow, I can’t believe you idiots actually made it here before three. I was planning on arresting you. Oh well.” Turning to Asami, Beifong stated, “Here’s some help. I’ve got to go but these three have generously volunteered to help set-up for the fights instead.”

With a quick turn, Lin strutted to the door only to remark over her shoulder, “By the way, you three look even dumber in those ridiculous glasses.”

Watching Beifong march out, the three of them shamefully took off their glasses and gazed at Asami. Korra supposed this was their punishment; be the MMA team’s personal bitches for their competition instead of Lin. Not the worst thing in the world, at least compared to being arrested.

In her subdued way, Asami seemed mischievously delighted as she appraised their blurry eyes and rumpled clothes, starting with Mako and finally ending with Korra. Korra thought that she seemed to scrutinize her hurried outfit the longest. Uncomfortable with Asami’s shameless examination, she crossed her arms and saucily stared back despite her blush. Why was this girl always around when she made a fat fool of herself? And why was she _staring?_

Finally back to business, Asami declared, “Okay, I have jobs for the three of you but you’re going to need more clothes. Bolin, Mako, go talk to Toru. And Korra, you come with me.” Asami whisked Korra away towards a locker room.

“So you’ll be with me today and I’ll have Mako and Bolin go with the two co-captains as assistants,” Asami said, walking briskly. Once inside, she led Korra to a red duffel and rifled through spare clothes until she yanked out a small black shirt.

“Are you sure that will fit?” Korra ventured. Asami’s green eyes skimmed Korra’s torso for a few seconds too long before she returned to shuffling through her bag. The shirt she pulled out next looked even smaller but Asami assured her it was a size larger. Pulling it on Korra felt like she was suffocating; the black fabric was clingy and far tighter and more revealing than her normal clothes. She'd honestly felt more dressed while shirtless. Looking to Asami distraught, she was given an innocently wide smile under flippant green eyes.

“Looks good to me,” Asami declared before flipping her hair and sauntering away.

Korra hurriedly followed while failing to prevent her tiny shirt from riding up above her midriff. Asami seemed a bit too smug in Korra’s opinion. Watching her lithely stride away, Korra wondered again what her problem was. Shaking her head and trying to make conversation, she asked, “So did you manage to make weight?”

Asami turned to say, “Yes, I did actually. It took another three sauna sessions before I was at 139 for weigh-ins. But it wasn’t very pleasant. You three looked like you had fun though; what did you do?”

Korra grimaced and tried to block the bright lights from within the arena. “Gingko Hill,” was her short reply.

Asami’s smirk widened slightly. “I see…So you _are_ gay.”

What the fuck? “I’m not,” Korra retorted curtly. “I think Mako’s bi or something. I don’t know. His crazy ex-boyfriend got us in trouble with a club we went to and Lin found out.”

Lifting her eyebrows, Asami asked, “How did she find out?”

Korra made a face as she replied, “the police footage.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah…”

“Well, let’s finish setting up chairs and I’ll let you three take a quick hangover break. You all look pretty rough,” Asami offered kindly. Nodding thankfully, Korra grabbed a stack of chairs; maybe Asami wasn't all that bad. As she strained to lift the stack from the cart, she felt a row of seams pop on her left side. Scratch that, Asami was literally the worst. Struggling to keep her too-tight shirt intact through set-up, she kept feeling like someone was watching her as she doggedly hefted chairs but when she turned around, Asami was busily supervising or conversing with teammates. When Bolin walked in, his eyes almost popped out of his head.

“Wow, Korra….umm--nice shirt! Yeah. It’s....tight. I’ve never seen you wear anything….like that.” He coughed, turned red, then just gave up and grabbed a chair.

“Yeah, apparently Asami doesn’t believe in shirts that don’t asphyxiate you,” Korra grumbled. A short while later, the team had finished setting up the judges' tables and seats surrounding the cage so Mako, Bolin, and Korra were allowed to go get food. Bolin and Asami had seemingly hit it off during set-up and he’d invited her to join them. Korra still felt more than a little uncomfortable around her and was unhappy she'd be tagging along.

Her gaze was a little too sharp and a little too mischievous for Korra’s liking, and her cherry lips always seemed on the verge of an amused quirk. Korra felt like she was being toyed with for some unknown reason. During set-up, she was almost positive Asami had been watching her and she definitely could have given her a looser shirt. This shit would have been small on a six year old.

Mako led them to a nearby Fire Nation restaurant he and Bolin knew. He, at least, was still slightly uncomfortable around Asami too.

While Mako and Korra walked a pace or two behind, Bolin chattered away to an entertained Asami who mostly just listened or added a comment or two. Scanning Korra quickly, Mako blushed and looked away; “What’s with the tiny shirt?”

“I think she’s fucking with me,” she whispered back. “She was nice at first but now I’m not really sure.” Mako quickly looked between her and Asami then shrugged. Korra continued, “Come on, you must have an opinion. Doesn’t she seem lowkey evil to you?”

Asami called behind her playfully, “Who seems evil?”

Both Korra and Mako jumped. Mako mouthed ‘you answer!’ Korra tried, “Azula. We were talking about Azula.”

“Aah. I see.”

When they finally got to the restaurant, Bolin began to tell Asami about their wild night. Mako had relaxed slightly and joined in but Korra still felt wary. The boys skipped or forgot about their joke on Tenzin so Korra asked, “What was with the condoms? When Tenzin found the Rogaine, for whatever reason there were like a thousand condoms in the bag. Also, who made the artwork and the card? I have to train Saturdays for the next six weeks now!”

Bolin pointed at Mako as Mako protested, “Hey! It was your stupid drawing…”

“Yeah but what did you even need all those condoms for anyway? You’re not even pretty,” retorted Bolin as he flexed. Korra reached across the table and smacked them both.

Asami, thoughtful despite their antics, asked “Train for what?”

“Huh?” Asked Korra, surprised by her soberness.

“Like, what do you have to train for on Saturdays?” Asami clarified.

“Oh, well Tenzin makes me do airbender training even though I obviously can’t airbend. It’s my spiritual duty apparently,” Korra said quickly.

“That doesn’t seem like him. I heard he usually doesn’t train people who aren’t super committed.”

Korra just shrugged. Asami was really beginning to irk her. She was so _smug_. At first, Korra had thought she was just reserved but her playful little tone was becoming truly annoying. And now she had to be serious and prying too?

When Asami leveled her with an openly analyzing stare, Korra glared back. She treated her like an inconveniently troubling puzzle but Korra wasn’t going to let this rich, glamour girl figure her out.

Trying to break the sparking tension, Bolin asked, “So Asami, any advice from our fight?” The other three discussed technique while Korra remained sullenly silent. Asami had a match later that afternoon and Bolin quickly promised they would all be there much to Korra’s dismay.

As they walked back from the restaurant, Asami fell in step with Korra rather than Bolin. Seemingly trying to continue her investigation from earlier, she asked, “So why exactly do you live on Airtemple Island? Like how do you know the family?”

Korra warily answered, “I grew up in the South near Tenzin’s mother. Also, my dad’s on the SWT council and I think he hit it off with Tenzin during a meeting in Republic City or something.”

Nodding along, Asami asked, “Where in the SWT and which council member is your dad? I might know him.”

“His name’s Tonraq, and it was near Harbor City, to the South a ways.”

“Bolin mentioned a compound or something.” Fucking Bolin, thought Korra. “What's that about?” Asami asked as they approached the convention center.

Scowling, Korra demanded, “What’s it to you anyway? Why so many questions?”

Smiling impishly, Asami replied, “Just trying to get to know you a bit more personally.”

Korra scoffed as they rounded the last block. Whatever. As they turned to enter, she felt hot air brush her cheek as Asami leaned her lips an inch from Korra’s ear. Speaking softly, like she was innocently explaining a math problem, Asami murmured, “You're also cute when you glare,” before strutting away to catch up with Bolin and Mako. Mouth slack and face blank, Korra stood stock still.

 

What the actual fuck.

 


	5. Balloons and Storms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so this chapter got really long. I don't know...I was just procarastinating for finals and it was way more fun to write this than study for physics. There are also a lot of fight scenes because writing those is also more fun than doing what I'm supposed to do. Time to fail out of college :)

Asami climbed demurely up the steps leading to the cage. Blank faced but for a small smile, she circled the mat twice before retreating to her corner. She wore the traditional black of the defending champion but had added small maroon accents to her spandex shorts and top just to be rebellious.

She seemed more cat-like than usual as she languidly bounced on her side of the cage. Her opponent, a Fire Nation chick named Raika, wore her hair in tight braids and aggressively shadowboxed from her side of the enclosure. After a perfunctory examination, Asami ignored her despite the steady stream of trash talk flowing from her mouth. Asami’s insolent little smirk remained fixed as the referee recited the rules but her eyes quickly narrowed once the whistle blew.

Striking from the outside, Asami met Raika’s aggressive forward lunge with whip-like leg kicks and crisp jabs. With quick head movement, Raika managed to slip a jab to get inside Asami’s range. Trying to brawl from the inside, she was met with a swift uppercut and a brutal left hook before Asami pivoted to the side to get a better angle. Already slightly dazed, Raika turned off-balance to meet a hard right and a sharp body hook. Rather than reel back to recover, she successfully clinched this time around. Trying to avoid open wrestling, Asami turned so Raika’s back was flush with the cage then threw a hard, horizontal elbow and a knee to the body. Both shots landed. Already, Raika had a small cut above her eyebrow slowly seeping blood and her abdomen heaved hard as she struggled to breath through Asami’s barrage to her ribs.

For her part, Asami remained explosive and relaxed as she carefully selected her blows. Patient despite her opponent’s harsh breaths and bloodied face, she alternated cruel body shots with swift elbows, hooks, and uppercuts to the head from the collapsed pocket. Eventually extending her range, Asami cut off the rest of the ring using fast footwork and calculated angles. Raika was forced to move backwards into the cage at every turn, and despite an initially tight guard, her hands sagged lower and lower as her cardio lagged. Pausing for an awkward half-beat, Asami changed the pace of her barrage before throwing a sudden, whirling head kick. As foot met head, there was an audible crack. Asami had already turned around and started walking to her corner when Raika hit the floor; after a blow like that, you really didn’t need to watch to know the outcome.

“YAAAASSSS ASAMI! THAT’S HOW WE DO IT!!” Screamed Bolin near Korra’s ear. The three of them had avidly watched Asami’s thorough dismantling of the number one contender in the ametuer division from the stands. Bolin had excitedly commented and screamed the entire fight, Mako had watched silently impressed, while Korra just tried to figure out what the fuck had happened earlier.

The cheering MMA team swamped the cage yet Bolin pulled Mako and Korra down to go congratulate Asami too. Reluctantly, Korra was dragged from the stands and straight up to Bumi, the other cornermen, and the rest of the team ringed around their captain. Korra awkwardly stood to the side with the brothers and waited. Asami was covered in a sheen of sweat, her black hair had escaped from its bun to frame her face in sweaty curls, and her face had split into the most satisfied grin Kora had ever seen her wear.

It had been a fun fight to watch, but Korra was still hung up on what Asami had said before. She’d called her cute. And whispered in her ear. And was she _flirting_ with her? Korra could easily tell with Bolin since he was so genuine and obvious but Asami was labyrinthine in comparison. Korra really wasn’t sure if she was being sardonic or not. Would that explain her weird evil behavior? She was so confused.

Usually, if she liked someone she was straightforward about it. If Asami liked her….Well, it just didn’t really seem likely. Asami was this rich, elegant, genius. Korra, as far as Asami knew, was only a random scholarship kid from the Southern Water Tribe. Asami wouldn’t like her.

Since she decided it couldn’t be flirting, Korra concluded Asami was really just mocking her or she pitied her or something. Anyway, why should she even care? She wasn’t gay and she definitely didn’t like Asami like that; in fact, she might even hate Asami. What kind of shit was she trying to pull with this ridiculousness? Korra was no fool!

Watching Asami celebrate, she scowled. She would not put up with this mockery.

When the rest of the MMA team cleared out, Bolin dragged the three of them over and basically forced them all into a sweaty group hug.

“Asami, you badass bitch! That was the best thing I’ve ever seen! You HAVE to train me soon,” Bolin shouted as Korra tried to avoid touching Asami. She smelled like lilacs and sweat and it pissed her off. Fuck that. Why couldn’t she smell bad like other humans? Too good for that, huh? As if sensing Korra’s reluctance, she slung a hatefully toned arm around her neck in the midst of their sweaty embrace. Korra tried to squirm away but Bolin gripped her tighter.

Eventually breaking up the hug, Asami replied, “Of course, Bolin! We should definitely hang out.”

Korra ground her teeth. Now the witch was stealing her friends with her rich-girl wiles! Anger mounting, she frowned deeper and stood off to the side with Mako who was indifferent to Korra’s petty hatred. Bolin and Asami began chatting again as he walked her to the locker room.

Whatever, Korra didn’t care at all.

………

Tenzin was unsurprisingly angry with her when she returned but had to accept that Lin owned her soul and she really couldn’t have disobeyed. After a restful Sunday, mostly spent sleeping and plotting revenge on Meelo, Korra returned to school Monday fully intending to avoid Asami forever. Unfortunately, Bolin had decided Asami was his new best friend and wanted to inform Korra of her many virtues.

“She’s _soooo_ fashionable and pretty! And nice! Also, smart. Did you know she’s actually finishing her graduate degree and she’s only 20? Being a TA is her last requirement.” Korra scornfully mouthed ‘she’s only 20!’ behind Bolin’s back. At calculus lecture, Asami smiled at Mako and Korra before taking her regular seat near Azula. At least that was normal, Korra thought until Mako waved Asami over to them on their way to lunch. Fuck.

At Narook’s, she was engaging, nice, and funny. Korra hated it; she knew Asami was hiding her true, insidious nature and she would bet Asami knew that she knew. She kept sending her those playful, knowing glances and always took the chance to sit or walk by her. As Korra stalked off to spiritology in a huff, Asami had the gall to _wink at her._ They were going to have a confrontation at this rate.

Additionally, airbending was going horribly. She hated Tenzin’s condescending droning, her torturous training routine, and her totall lack of improvement. She just didn’t get it. With the other bending forms, Korra had just done it or pushed herself until she could. Apparently, airbending was something “she just couldn’t push.” It hurt her pride; Korra knew that being the traditionally wise avatar would never fit her, but she’d always assumed she’d master the four elements at a minimum.

Her frustrations scaled as the pressure mounted for their first upcoming tournament, Tenzin’s expectations increased, and midterms approached. Like last week, Korra's temper blossomed from mild on Monday to seething rage-volcano by Friday. Asami flustered her, Tenzin aggravated her, Lin was mean, Bolin was a fangirl, Mako was too damn serious, and Meelo was just himself. That night at practice, Lin had invited the MMA team, including Asami, to watch the final seeding selections for their first tournament.

Mako, Bolin, and Korra had destroyed the other teams they’d faced over the course of the week so Lin had matched them with Tahno’s to decide who got priority placing. So far, they’d been working flawlessly together but it felt off as soon as they stepped into the arena. And Korra knew it was her fault. Their first round was demoralizing with Tahno’s fat mouth running and Korra off her game. They’d lost a zone and Korra had failed to fully block a disk to the stomach. Rubbing her sore abdomen she clenched her jaw. As she got angrier and angrier, she wished she could just fucking firebend already. With the way she was aggressively hurling streams of water, she may as well have been.

Between the first and second rounds, Mako yelled, “Come on, Korra! Get it together! We’re going to lose this if you can’t focus.” Bolin had just looked puzzled. The second round went even worse than the first; Korra had never felt more tense in her life. Her neck was taut and her fists were balled. They lost two zones to Tahno and his asshole team before the end of the round and they were barely hanging on by a thread for the last thirty seconds. Bolin had hurt his shoulder, Mako had seemingly given up, and Korra was still so fucking angry.

Looking at her friends before the start of the final round, she felt her anger deflate like a pierced balloon. She was being a petulant fucking baby and the two people who had made life fun since she moved to Republic City were suffering for it. Bolin was holding his shoulder with a grimace, and Mako’s face was both resentful and sad.

Swallowing her pride, she said, “Hey guys, I’m really sorry….I know this is my fault, but let’s at least try to make this last round a good one.” Bolin looked up, trying to contain some disappointment. Mako just looked away.

As they assembled in formation, Korra tried to clear her mind and stop forcing things. She couldn’t control the outcome of the round, she could just bend one element the best she could and hope Bolin and Mako would too. Breathing deeply, she reached for a stream of water from beneath the grate and let it flow just like Katara first taught her. Remembering Katara was here watching was both comforting and embarrassing. She hadn’t been able to see her much since they’d been working with the MMA team, but she knew she would be rooting for her now.

The bell rang and Korra finally relaxed. Swirling the water in high and low loops she redirected Tahno’s choppy bursts while ducking and dodging their earthbender’s erratic disks. Mako was dealing with the firebender for now and Bolin was trying to land a clean blow on Tahno with a rapid-fire barrage. Mako knocked the firebender back a sector just as Bolin and Korra simultaneously hammered Tahno two zones back. Smiling slightly at Korra, Bolin nodded and they fell into a practice strategy. Mako caught on once they began the familiar pattern.

As Bolin covered her, Korra launched a spinning volley of water globs that forced their earthbender off balance and stumbling back to the second section. Moving up one zone with the brothers, Korra realized they only had a minute to go! At a feverish pace, Mako and Bolin assaulted either flank with a bombardment of curving flames and earth disks that pushed Tahno’s waterbender and firebender to the middle of the second sector. Korra shielded them with wide ribbons of water until they’d forced their opponents in place. Twisting a thick rope of liquid, Korra sent the deluge forward with as much force as she could muster, sending them both reeling into the last zone with Tahno. When Lin signaled they could move one zone forward, Bolin, Mako, and Korra each released a rapid torrent of their element. Hit by a painful combination of spinning water disks, packed earth, and curved arcs of flame they toppled over one another and tumbled into the shallow moat below.

Breathing heavily, Korra grabbed Bolin and Mako and hugged them. They did it! Tahno had been bragging all week about his team definitely getting the top seed but the Fire-Ferrets had beat them!

Mako clapped her on the shoulder while Bolin beamed ecstatically.

“Nice change, Korra! If we play like that every round we’ll definitely win that tournament,” Mako said excitedly. Looking up towards Katara wearing a wide grin, she was given a sly wink and an approving nod. Lin seemed indifferent but she wasn’t scowling so Korra was pleased. Asami walked up to their little gathering and seemed genuine as she exclaimed, “Wow, that was an awesome comeback! You guys work really well together.”

High on endorphins and their underdog victory, Korra looked into Asami’s eyes and tried to let go of her weird grudge for a minute. She sounded seriously congratulatory so Korra simply smiled and said, “Thanks.” Asami looked pleasantly surprised and smiled back brightly. Bolin hugged them both suddenly and screamed, “Time to celebrate!” ruining the moment.

Shaking her head vehemently (she never wanted to get _that_ drunk again!) she readied her things for the ferry ride home. A warm hand on her shoulder stopped her before she left, she turned to see Asami’s amused half-smile fixed back in place. Mako said, “Korra, the ferries aren’t running tonight. There’s been a windstorm and all the boats are staying in the harbour. We don’t have to get drunk but you should at least come celebrate! You can stay with me and Bolin.”

That sounded a lot better than airbending….

Calling Tenzin, Korra got him to agree to let her stay in the city, which was surprisingly difficult considering the alternative was drowning on her way back to the island. Laughing and smiling they headed off campus. Asami had a car and volunteered to drive them all to Mako and Bolin’s. And by “had a car,” she apparently meant she’d personally restored a vintage, red Satomobile Racer like it was no big deal. Mako and Bolin fawned over it while Korra just shrugged. She didn’t even know how to drive and honestly thought the subway worked just fine. Asami was appalled when she learned Korra didn’t have her license and immediately offered to teach her.

Deciding Asami wasn’t half bad without the constant teasing, Korra nodded and enjoyed the drive down to the wharfs. Heavy rain battered the windshield and the wind silently jerked trees and signs along the road. Sitting next to Mako and watching the blurred lights pass by, she felt both safe and wistful. She wished she could encase the moment in amber and remain hemmed in the dim, warm cab of the car forever. Sad the drive would be over soon but happy she could be close to her goofball friends for at least ten minutes, she leaned her head on Mako’s shoulder. When she looked up, she spotted Asami’s jade eyes restlessly studying them from the rearview mirror. For once, she looked away first instead of Korra.

When Korra was sure she was watching the road again, she examined Asami in return. Enveloped in the comfortable silence surrounding them, she seemed at home in this task. One hand propped on the burnished, wooden wheel and eyes automatically scanning the road as she smoothly shifted gears with the other hand. Today, her hair was pulled back on one side with a small clip; she wore a fitted, black and red canvas jacket, which looked both expensive and worn, over tight black jeans with a purple scarf. Her makeup was applied to her usual immaculate standards and her hair was calculatedly curled. Overall, she looked like a clothed, rehabilitated pin-up model Korra might see in a commercial.

Korra was wearing sweatpants and her least dirty shirt. It was all blue because she kind of didn’t know how to wear other colors yet. She’d decided Asami was nice and not mocking, but now needed to rethink her earlier flirty behavior. She’d never had female friends, maybe that’s just how girls interacted? It wasn’t that Asami wasn’t pretty, or nice, or smart, or funny, or interesting, Korra just didn’t like her like that. She didn’t like girls, Asami was a girl, so Korra didn’t like her. She knew this; it was logic or something. Anyway, she shouldn’t even care how Asami acted, usually she just shook things like that off when guys did them. But strangely, it miffed Korra that she didn’t understand why Asami was so weird.

Asami’s jade eyes flicked back up for a moment as they passed under an orange street lamp; warm light poured through the windshield, washing out the reds and blacks of the seats. Staring into furtively amused green eyes, it was almost like Korra’s earlier wish had been fulfilled: an amber glow effused the cab and the moment slowed as they took one another in through the strip of mirror. Maybe she didn’t understand Asami now but, for the first time, she acknowledged she wanted to. Whatever she was playing at, Korra would uncover it. She would solve the Asami puzzle before Asami solved her. This time, Korra winked.

Bolin, yet again, ruined the moment by shouting. “GUYS. Can we stop for those balloons and make it a real celebration? PLEASE, please, please?” Looking away from the mirror, and hopefully Asami’s shocked expression, Korra saw bundles of helium balloons attached to sandwich board signs advertising new condos. They were lined up and down the block, as if someone had forgotten to take them in for the night. Many of them were thrashing wildly in the strong winds.

Asami let out a laugh and cut through the thin traffic so Bolin could run out and rip the bundles from their signs one at a time. The car began to fill with balloons and Mako complained, “Is this really necessary?”

Just to piss him off, Korra hopped out of the car too and started giggling with Bolin as they snatched more balloons to shove in the backseat with Mako. They had grabbed about seven bundles, when a manager burst out of the building office and yelled after them, “Hey! You can’t take those!”

Diving into the front seat, Korra bent some of the rainwater from their soaked clothes behind her as a distraction. Bolin hopped in after her, landing heavily onto her lap and Asami fishtailed out. Displaying terrifying driving skills, she drifted the car around the next corner then gunned it for two blocks, narrowly cutting between law-abiding vehicles. Mako was pissed. All of the back seat was taken up with multicolored balloons, so he barely had room to breath much less carry on about the law as Asami drove away like a maniac. No one was even chasing them, but Bolin and Korra were giggling madly at her high-speed antics so Asami amused them until they found a parking spot near the stadium.

Finally stopping, Asami high-fived Bolin and Korra then grabbed some balloons to carry up to the loft. Mako complained loudly, but none of them listened as they laughed about their heist. Falling onto the couch, Korra grinned crookedly. She had no idea what they were going to do with all these balloons. At least Pabu had been excited to see them; he’d immediately sprung from Bolin’s shoulder to viciously attack a green one.

Leaving him to it, Bolin happily plopped down next to Korra while Mako just grumbled away to the bathroom. Turning to Asami, Bolin asked, “Hey, so about that offer from earlier...Is that still a thing? Because that would be fun if you’re still up for it…”

Asami nodded, “Yeah I have some with me if you want.”

“Have what?” Korra asked, perplexed.

The two of them smiled like they were letting her in on a ripe secret. “Have you ever tried swamp leaf before?” Bolin asked excitedly.

Alarmed, Korra asked, “Isn’t that kinda like cactus juice? Sorry, but I really don’t feel like hallucinating for the next three days.”

“No, definitely not like cactus juice! It is a drug but it doesn’t make you see things, it just makes stuff more mellow and fun. It won’t give you a hangover and it’s not illegal or anything but there is kinda a stigma. We totally don’t have to do it if you don’t want to too.” Bolin said kindly.

Asami added, “Seriously, it’s really no big deal if you don’t feel like it. We can just hang out instead.”  

Well, after their explanation, it sounded pretty mild to Korra so why not? “Sure, I guess. If it’s really not a big deal.”

Grinning, Bolin grabbed a lighter and lit a neat joint Asami produced from her purse. After watching the other two, Korra was instructed to breath the smoke all the way in. Her first attempt made her hack and cough violently. It smelled and tasted musky and made her lungs feel like they were filled with hot sand. After a couple tries, her thoughts became kind of sticky. She knew they definitely flowed much quicker than this glacial pace normally.

Mako emerged from the bathroom to find a smoke filled loft. Sighing, he sat next to Asami and she passed him the joint from her slender fingers. Taking a practiced hit, he waved at Korra, “I think she may have overdone it for her first time.” Korra waved back. Looking at her, Bolin and Asami laughed and laughed. Was she funny? She’d been staring at the dust motes floating near the ceiling and gotten lost. For whatever stupid reason, she hadn’t noticed them like this before. Wow, they were pretty.

And the city! Holy heck, there were so many lights out there; Korra was convinced it was magic as she pressed her face up against the window. Bolin, Mako, and Asami were talking about something silly while Korra tromped through the loft with Pabu and played with all those marvelous balloons. Eventually, they called her back over to the couch and gave her a glass of water. Instead of drinking it, Korra began to bend it into different shapes, slowly transfixed. She wasn’t nearly as incapacitated as last Friday, but everything around her was fascinating. They ordered delivery (a ridiculous amount of delivery) from an Earth Kingdom joint down the street. Eating noodles, Korra giggled as Bolin, Mako, and Asami inhaled helium from the balloons and talked probending. Asami was apparently a big fan.

“The Wolfbats haven’t had any good drafts in _forever,_ they’re only still the champions because the refs are so dirty!” Asami complained at a high pitch. She was so serious but her voice was so tiny, thought Korra gleefully.

She continued her tirade after taking another lungful, “I mean come on! Last season was a fucking joke. The prelims were fine but I barely watched any matches with the Wolfbats because their cheating is just so disgusting.” Another inale. “Even a regular old blowout is more fun to watch!” Mako and Bolin were now cackling along with Korra.

Prim and proper Asami was high as fuck and complaining about sports at the highest key Korra had ever heard someone speak. It was pretty awesome. They spent the rest of the night eating, goofing around, and watching old movies. Bolin cried to Lilo and Stitch, the most outlandish kids movie ever made. It was about a little girl on this island called Hawaii, a mix of Fire Nation and Water Tribe, and a spirit from outer space. Checking the case, Korra was unsurprised to see it was produced by the Varrick Corporation

“It’s just so sad!” Bolin exclaimed through tears and another lungful of helium. Clutching Pabu to his chest, he wailed “Stitch only wants a family but he doesn’t understand how to be _good._ ” They were all laughing at him so hard Korra thought she was going to pee her pants.

Eventually they settled down around 1:00 AM. Mako and Bolin plopped into their beds and quickly fell asleep while Korra and Asami played cards on the couch. As the effects wore off, Korra decided she much preferred this mellower experience to their wild, gut-churning drunkenness last week.

Asami won the hand for the fifth time in a row. Korra scowled. Asami also won pai sho, chess, checkers, and backgammon. Korra won the arm wrestling contest she challenged her to to prove she could win _something_.

Out of energy and games to distract them, they sat in comfortable silence for a spell. Eventually, Asami asked, “What is it you’re going to school for? I honestly have no idea.”

Korra let out a short laugh; “Me neither.”

“Well, what do you like?” Asami prompted.

That was a hard question. It really hadn’t mattered much what Korra liked. Her occupation was already decided; eventually, she’d have to publicly announce she was the avatar, act as the ceremonial “bringer of balance,” and sit on her butt. No one wanted an active avatar since Aang had handled the Fire Nation. His role had become increasingly restricted as all the nations became stronger and more industrialized over the years.

Aang had counseled and talked and debated, but he had rarely acted and he began to do even those things less as he aged. That couldn’t be Korra. She might be frustrated with her overwhelming schedule, but she had to be doing something. She refused to be a symbol or a pawn but she didn’t think she could ever really break free and do what she _wanted_. Honestly, after all this time, she really didn’t even remember what that was.

Looking across at Asami, she replied, “You know, it’s been a long time since anyone’s asked me that and I really don’t even know anymore. I spend most of my time letting other people tell me what I should do rather than deciding for myself.”

Asami stared for a moment. Surprisingly, she quietly replied, “Me too.”

The unspoken question hung between them for a moment. What tied down Asami and limited her future, Korra wondered. Asami’s still face silently asked her the same thing. They sat curled on opposite sides of the couch and watched each other, debating whether to reply or wait. Murky light filtered through the windows from the city lights yet the apartment felt swaddled and isolated from the constant bustle beyond the panes. The seconds dripped rhythmically as it became less and less likely either would answer.  

As if coming to her senses, Korra realized she really couldn’t tell Asami anyway. For a moment, she’d felt safe and open in the silent, dark loft but her indiscretion could cost her both her new friends and the life she’d come to enjoy the past few weeks. Being the avatar had separated her from people her entire life; Korra didn’t believe that would change now just because she’d been accepted for one month.

Smiling wryly at her own foolishness, Korra said, “So, couch or floor?” breaking the tense moment and grounding them back in reality. She liked Asami but she wasn’t about to fuck everything up by telling her she was the avatar. Asami almost sounded relieved as she quickly replied, “Couch, but we could share if you wanted.”

Korra nodded. Asami had acted normal all day, why not? Taking up her half, Korra whispered “goodnight” before quickly drifting to sleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Swamp leaf seemed like a good way to describe weed in the avatar world so we're sticking with that. Also, Bolin's a gigantic moment-ruiner when it comes to korrasami bonding.


	6. Dreams and Conferences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments on the last couple chapters! I have definitely read and enjoyed all of them. I will usually reply if you ask a question even if I don't reveal everything you ask about. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and thanks for all the support.

Weirdly, Asami had decided to teach her tutorial section in the sauna. The whole class was ringed around the hot rocks whispering urgently, “Azula wants us to calculate how many there are in the next fifteen minutes! Should we take an integral?”

Ryu snorted, “Whatever. There’s probably like 52 or something, God.”

Korra was about to suggest they just count the rocks when she heard a soft snicker from the other end of the wooden room. Meandering towards the noise, she began to smell the drifting scent of lilacs. Eventually, Korra spotted Asami leaning back against a bench. She wore her rain slicker over her tight fight outfit, her eyes were lidded, and she smiled lazily as her gaze swept over Korra.

“Did you call me over?” Korra asked, sitting on the same bench.

“It looks like you came here on your own.” Asami retorted lowly. 

Korra realized she was right. Why did she do that? The heat was getting to her and she’d soaked her tiny black t-shirt with sweat, her brain felt muddled as the floral air steamed around them. 

Suddenly, Asami’s nose was an inch from her own. “I’ll meet you half-way since you did come  _ all _ the way over here,” she teased hushedly. Korra looked back to where the class had been and realized they were so far away now, it seemed the sauna had stretched and they were ringed around the rocks miles away.

When she turned back, Asami’s vibrant, emerald stare compressed the space between them and halved the air flowing into Korra’s constricted chest. She watched strands of her black hair curl from her bun then a drop of sweat slowly fall from the end of her chin, roll down her raincoat, and splash on alabaster legs.

The air between them stretched taut in the heat. Asami’s eyes flustered Korra; she wanted to come closer, study her baiting lips fully, apprehend the flower scent’s source. Their legs softly tangled together while hanging off the bench and she felt a ringing behind her ears. They were claustrophobically near but Korra hated the space between them already. Her intense desire to know why she came this far drove her to lean forward. Green eyes sparkled with amusement, that perpetual smile so close Korra could feel Asami’s breath across her upper lip, and yet the distance wouldn’t collapse. She spent another airless moment straining to fully envelop Asami’s full lips, to really understand why they were both there. But the more Korra leaned in, the more her shirt pressed against her throat. It was strangling her and she tried to thrash away but the heaviness of her own body and Asami’s strange allure left her rooted in place. As she struggled to breathe in the cloying heat, the scent of lilacs pressed in around her, overwhelming any other sense. Struggling and dripping sweat, she stared into expectant jade eyes until her vision fizzled to black.

 

Breathing hard, she woke suddenly. Her legs were entwined with Asami’s and their faces really were only an inch apart on the narrow couch. She had sweat through her blue shirt and it was stiflingly hot in the cramped space they shared. Caught in a moment between dreaming and wakefulness, she studied Asami’s sleeping face. It alarmed her as she realized Asami was really fucking pretty. Like not objectively beautiful to an unbiased panel excluding Korra, but unfairly attractive to  _ her. _

Her dark lashes fluttered as she breathed tranquilly yet her face remained slack. It was strange to see her without her plethora of smirks and microexpressions, Korra hadn’t realized how closely she watched for the subtle shifts in Asami’s smooth facade. Often, she’d wondered if anyone else noticed her small emotional cues or if she was the only one to study her closely or frequently enough. Usually she looked far older than 20 and acted like she could read Korra like a children’s book; relaxed and asleep, she appeared much younger. Without her practiced poise, her raven hair curled messily around her face, ruddy, red lips softly fell open, and her correct posture melted into a sleepy slouch. It was cute, actually.

Wait, no. Absolutely not.

Korra didn’t have an issue with gay people as a concept or people she knew being gay but she’d always been so sure she was straight. Anyway, even if she was gay, it wasn’t going to be for perfect, pretty-girl Asami! She’d heard people saying it could be a phase; maybe this was just a weird stress reaction to the changes in her life. Yeah, that sounded psychological enough.

Green eyes flickered open, shocking her off the couch. She made a muffled thud as she landed on the dirty rug. Asami hung her head over the side of the couch and snickered.

“Good morning. You could have given me some more space, you’re quite the cuddler, you know.” Asami looked far from annoyed as she gave Korra a pretty smile. After remembering how they’d settled last night, she realized she’d migrated over to Asami’s side of the couch. Blushing fiercely, she picked herself up off the ground. Korra’s stomach flipped acrobatically as Asami leisurely yawned and shook out her tousled hair; maybe she had a medical condition? Then Asami smiled at her in a way that was soft and mature all at once and her heart hammered in her throat. 

She obviously had a heart-stomach medical condition. 

After staring for a few dumbfounded seconds longer, Korra turned and fled to the bathroom. She could feel Asami’s knowing glance bore into her back as she scuttled away. This weirdness would fade with time. She’d decided she liked Asami as a friend last night, she’d almost told her she was the avatar in a secluded moment, but she wasn’t  _ gay _ for her. Nope, definitely not. 

It was just a very strange dream that made her act dumb the next day. Maybe this was a swamp leaf by-product! Yeah. Everything could be explained if she could just escape back to the island and away from Asami  _ right now.  _ Hurriedly combing her hair and putting it up with feverish fingers, Korra gazed into the mirror. She could do this. Act natural.

Walking out into the living room. She was met with Bolin, Mako, and Asami discussing breakfast plans. “Hey, Korra! You’re up. Do you want to come and get breakfast with us?” Bolin asked excitedly.

“Umm, actually I have to go back to the island and train with Tenzin. Maybe next time?” She replied edging towards her pile of stuff.

“Aww okay. We should definitely do something like this again next Saturday though.” Bolin sounded disappointed but Korra really did have to go train and the less time she spent around Asami the better. Before she’d finished stuffing clothes in her bag, too sweetly, Asami asked, “Want a ride down to the dock? We can drop you off on our way.”

“Uhhh… I really don’t want to be a burden…”

“Nonsense!” Shouted Bolin. He threw a thick arm around her neck and dragged her down to Asami’s car with them. Shoving her into the front seat, he hopped in back with Mako. Okay, just a quick drive down to the docks with other people in the car, no big deal. Korra stared out the window like her life depended on it. 

Asami, taking a turn leading away from the bay, asked, “Hey, would you guys go save a table while I go drop off Korra? That way we can get seats before the restaurant gets too busy.”

No. Please no. 

Mako said, “Sure, that seems like a good idea,” and he and Bolin hopped out and waved goodbye, leaving her trapped in the car with Asami. Fuck.

They drove in awkward silence for a few minutes. When Asami finally pulled up to the dock, she yanked up the emergency brake and unhurriedly turned to Korra. The small car seemed even more cramped than usual as she faced Asami’s playful glance.

“Soo….You said some pretty interesting things last night.” Korra blanched. Oh god, did she talk in her sleep? Did Asami somehow know about her dream? Could she  _ read minds? _

“L-like what?” She stuttered.

“Well, you were there. Don’t you remember?” Asami asked wickedly, torturously leaving her question unanswered.

What the hell was she supposed to say to that?  _ ‘Yes, Asami, I had a dream I tried to make out with you in the sauna,’  _ or ‘ _ You crazy witch! Burn all mind reading pagans!’  _ Trying to think through her options, she felt kind of dazed as Asami slowly leaned over to her side of the cab. As her face sped closer, Korra froze; was she trying to kiss her?! Her brain shut off and she just watched Asami’s oncoming mouth like an idiot. Hovering only four scant inches from Korra’s face, Asami smiled innocently, reached past her, and popped open the glove compartment to grab a piece of gum. 

Leisurely unwrapping it, Asami watched Korra struggle with only slightly suppressed amusement. Placing the piece between lush lips she finally asked, “Well….aren’t you going to answer?”

“What?” Korra asked densely. Asami's lips were still mind numbingly close and she didn’t even remember the question anymore.

Laughing at her outright, Asami finally clarified, “We talked about what you wanted to do in the future. Do you really not remember?” Oh. Okay.

“Oh, yeah! Hahaha!….Yeah. I remember that. Why?” Korra said rubbing the back of her neck in relief and...disappointment?

“Well, it was nice to finally talk to you one on one. I feel like things have been weird between us and I just wanted to make sure that we’re friends.” Asami said innocuously, retreating back to her side of the car.

Korra took a deep breath in the suddenly empty, cold space. Friends...cool. Korra could be cool with friends. Yeah.

“Yes, definitely. We’re definitely friends.”

Asami smiled brightly. Businesslike, as if she hadn’t just given Korra a heart attack, she continued, “Great. Well, have a good day. I guess I’ll see you next week.”

Korra smiled back, bolted from the car, then dove off the pier. The ferries were running but maybe a cold swim could clear her overheated brain.

 

………

 

When she got back to the island, Jinora greeted her at the dock. Apparently, Tenzin needed to attend a council meeting and couldn’t do her training today so he’d left Jinora in his place. Without debate, they headed up to the top of the small tower at the center of the island. Hanging their legs off the edge, they watched the steel grey waves crash against the rocks and the pelican-gulls fly against the snapping breeze. The brisk sea air whipped through their clothes and hair but they endured anyway. 

This was their occasional meeting place; when Jinora was pissed at her dad or Korra was frustrated, they both came up here to talk or quietly look at the city together. In many ways, Jinora was like a little sister to her. She was the first person she’d been able to laugh and joke with in Republic City and she intuitively knew when something was bothering her. In return, Jinora was able to ask Korra about her adventures and talk to someone sympathetic outside of her family.

Breathing in the fresh air, Korra felt a bit clearer. Jinora took one look at her and asked, “What’s on your mind? You seem unsettled.”

Unsettled was a good word for it. Sighing, Korra falteringly asked, “Do...do you know of Asami Sato?”

Jinora’s eyes lit up. “You mean the glamour queen herself? Yes! Why?”

Korra laughed, of course Jinora would know of Asami Sato. Jinora loved bad romance books and followed the Republic City tabloids closely for celebrity drama. Luckily, she was smart in other ways which made up for her poor judgement in that department.

“Okay. Well, we kind of became friends and I just don’t really understand her. One minute she’s super nice and cool, then the next she’s mocking me and acting all weird.”

Jinora squeaked excitedly before addressing her question: “Weird how? And is that really all that’s bothering you? You kind of seem especially bothered.”

Jinora was too perceptive for this conversation to go Korra’s way. She knew she was going to end up spilling her guts about everything including her freaky dream.

“Well she’s almost….flirty? Like, she called me cute and she seems to pay me extra special attention a lot. She’s always teasing me too when no one is looking. And I guess….well, we just have this weird challenge or something between us? Like, we’re both trying to figure each other out. I don’t know.”

Korra was concerned; either Jinora had an aneurysm or she was way too excited: “Gahhhh! Okay, I’m cool. Go on.”

Slowly, Korra started again, trying to talk above cold gusts of wind, “Okay so we talked last night and it was really weird because I almost told her I was the avatar. It just felt like the right thing to do and I was almost so stupid! She also seems like she has a secret and we had this weird, almost-confession thing happen.” 

Jinora nodded, completely rapt.

Lowering her voice and leaning closer, Korra swallowed; “And I guess I had this dream…” Explaining what happened, Korra was struck again by the heat and tension that had swamped her body. Then she remembered Asami’s messy morning hair and how close they were on the couch. 

“Then after this morning, she drove me to the docks and I thought….Well, she leaned over really close to me and it seemed like she was going to…ummm….kiss me? But she actually was just grabbing a piece of gum…And basically, I went into cardiac arrest.” Jinora followed along excitedly until she finished. After closing her eyes for a moment, she let out an excited screech. 

“Oh my god! I can’t believe you were holding all this crazy romanticness back from me!” --Korra didn’t think romanticness was a word*-- “You and Asami Sato are totally in gay love.” 

“Uhhhh, no. It was just a weird dream, Jinora. Don’t get too crazy.” 

“Too crazy? Korra, shit is already too crazy! You’re secretly the avatar here in Republic City to figure yourself out, Asami is a rich billionaire with glamour to spare, and now you’re…. _ in love _ .” Korra was shocked; Jinora usually didn’t swear, or swoon, if that’s what that weird face was. She must be really starved for events if she was this excited by her ridiculous life. But still, she didn’t like Asami! This was just an odd reaction to all the pressure and change she'd been subjected to recently.

“Maybe this is just a weird stress response. I’m pretty sure I would know by now if I was gay.”

Jinora gave Korra her most scathing expression. “In all the psychological journals I’ve read by reputable, not homophobic, experts, I’ve never heard of a ‘homosexual stress response’ unless people were completely isolated with exclusively members of their same sex.”

It infuriated Korra that Jinora probably  _ had _ read a lot of psychological journals for fun. 

“I mean I guess not, but I’m still pretty sure I would know if I liked Asami.” Korra replied stubbornly.

Rolling her eyes, Jinora rattled off, “Do you blush a lot around her or does she make your heart beat hard?”--For the record, Korra was almost positive she had a medical condition--"Do you think she’s pretty or smells nice? Do you think she’s interesting? Do you want to have her adopted babies?”

“I mean....yes. Except for the babies thing…” 

Triumphantly, Jinora continued, “Okay. Well, it seems like you might have a crush on her to me. And it also sounds like she probably has a crush on you.” 

Korra thought it through. Say she was gay, was Asami the type of girl she’d be attracted to? She did have great hair, nice eyes, and nice...everything. She was also really smart and mischievous in a way Korra appreciated, sort of sassy. And it wasn’t like she could say Asami wasn’t intriguing; she was definitely intrigued. There was also something inexplicable about her Korra wanted to figure out. And she may have enjoyed the strange tension between them. She was often flustered or confused and she still felt more excited and tense around Asami than she normally should. But regardless, Korra had a hard time accepting she might be gay.

“I don’t know, Jinora…It’s just hard to think about me liking girls. I’ve never really thought about myself that way.”

Jinora nodded slowly. Seriously, she replied, “You know, it doesn’t mean you can’t like boys too. And also, you don’t have to make it all about liking girls as a category, you just might have to accept that you like Asami _. _ ” 

Swinging her legs over the edge and staring at the choppy waters, Korra thought it through. She decided she could handle that. Maybe she didn’t have to suddenly decide she was this totally different person, she could just feel whatever this was and figure the other stuff out later. Without the weight of an entire sexual orientation shift resting on her shoulders, Korra clearly reviewed her feelings and her past interactions with Asami. 

After a moment’s reflection, she turned to Jinora; “Goddamit.”

Jinora beamed. “Yay!”

Sighing, Korra slouched. She totally had it bad for Asami Sato and she was totally fucked.

 

 

 

*Romanticness is a word. Jinora is annoyingly right 95% of the time because she's a total nerd.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it felt fitting that Korra might have some qualms about liking a girl after the way I characterized her through the past chapters. It was definitely important to me to include it but this will probably be the chapter it's heavily addressed because it's not really something I want to focus on too much. Anyway, I hope you liked it and let me know what you think!


	7. Injury Prevention and Pillow Forts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update took so long. I started school again and life has just gotten more hectic. I also had a difficult time with this chapter because I wasn't exactly sure how the rest of the fic is going to go. Anyway, I hope you like it, thanks for all the comments, and please let me know what you think of the update.

Since Korra had named her feelings, it was like they had taken over. She picked and worried at them, constantly running to and fro like a dog with a hidden bone. At times, it felt oddly satisfying to think about Asami and review their conversations but intermittently she was struck with bouts of itchy restlessness. She felt like she carried a secret burden that excited and antagonized her all at once. Did Asami even really like her or was this just some weird delusion Jinora had convinced her of? 

The week went by in a flash. She paid more attention to Asami during their group hang outs and stayed a bit quieter than usual but no one really seemed to notice. Occasionally, when Korra ate lunch with the group or at calculus lecture, she would turn to find Asami giving her a searching look but usually she just smiled at Korra and looked away. Other than that, Asami had quit her flirty behavior.

Korra couldn’t tell if she was intensely relieved or extremely disappointed. She had liked people before but it had never nagged her so urgently or left her so bothered. Really the only romantic thing Korra had ever experienced had lasted for only a couple days during the Glacier Spirits Festival. For once, she’d been allowed to run around instead of relentlessly training through the entire event. It had been fun at first but she was always the outsider watching marauding groups of her peers laugh with their friends.

After buying squid skewers from a chatty, Northern Water Tribe grandma, she’d ended up mingling with a group of carnies who’d come from all over the four nations. She had wandered through the games with them until a cute Fire Nation game operator had flirted with her as she’d tried the hammer smash. She’d agreed to go on a date with him and they had a fun couple of days but eventually he had to pack up and move on. It was almost a relief; it was great pretending to be normal, but she couldn’t avoid her training and duties for long. 

She’d had small crushes like that before, but what she felt towards Asami was head spinning in comparison. She was just so confused! Why was Asami acting so backhanded? If she liked Korra, why not just ask her out? Teasing, flirting, and games were not her specialties, though Asami seemed to have mastered them all.

Maybe if Korra was direct she could salvage some dignity. She considered flat-out asking Asami Sato on a date and fully appreciated Mako’s unwitting bravery. When the stakes were so high (gorgeous, billionaire, prodigy-person) being rejected felt inevitable. But Asami flirted with her and maybe she liked Korra too? Ughhh.

Korra poured her inward frustration into their bending practices. Since seeding had been decided for the weekend’s tournament, Mako, Bolin, and Korra had practiced together relentlessly. None of the teams were pulling any blows so practices had been brutal. 

After Thursday’s particularly savage sparring, Korra sat down Bolin and Mako for a healing session. She usually only healed if no one better was around but since Master Katara was busy with so many other injuries (apparently, Lin didn’t believe in tapering before “low-stakes” competitions) Korra would have to suffice. 

Running a glowing glob of water over Mako’s bruised knee, she focused on a particularly abused ligament. Mako finally relaxed and allowed his eyes to flutter shut; Korra worried he might actually drift asleep. Bolin stretched out along a bench behind them with an arm over his face waiting for his turn. Both of their jerseys were soaked in sweat and they moved gingerly due to aching limbs and bones. Korra felt almost fresh in comparison. Lin had allowed her to run three miles in the mornings instead of five this week and Tenzin had slackened her training too. With only official practices and school to exhaust her, she’d had abundant energy so far. In matches, she had out performed their opponents  _ and _ Mako and Bolin. 

In fact, Korra felt the best she had since arriving at RCU. For the first time, she had friends, she was free to wander whenever, and she enjoyed living with a family. Also, she hadn’t realized how heavily she’d been training the last four weeks until after she’d lessened her burden; now far less exhausted, she bubbled over with restlessness. Unfortunately, her ample energy correlated to her inability to relax about the Asami subject. If she wasn’t practicing, she was stewing about it.

Finishing with Mako’s knee and giving his right elbow a quick pass over, Korra waved him away and gestured for Bolin to sit in front of her. Siphoning over an even larger sheet of water, Korra coated Bolin’s back. He’d been having issues for a while and she knew he could probably fix it with some little stance and posture changes but she didn’t think she could coach him inconspicuously.

Korra swirled the water in circular patterns. Muttering under her breath, she wished they had a pool. Bolin would be in poor shape for the tournament unless he got in some serious, submerged healing sessions. What started as a little lower back pain had ended up screwing with his hip as he tried to compensate. 

Korra racked her brain for a somewhere they could dunk him. The bending team wasn’t allowed to use the pools in the sports facility since one squad had gotten too rowdy last spring, Lin would get pissed if they threw him in the arena moat, and most public pools didn’t appreciate being overrun by waterbenders.

Maybe Bolin or Mako would know, they definitely had hook ups all over. Cranking her neck, she asked, “Hey, Mako. Do you know of a pool we could use? It would really help Bolin if we could submerge him.”

Mako furrowed his brow in concern, “Is he really that injured?”

Bolin snored suddenly and Korra rolled her eyes, typical.

“No, it’s not really bad but I don’t want him to get worse and one injury can lead to others if it’s not all taken care of. Usually, I’d tell him to rest up but he doesn’t have that option with the tournament and all. I just don’t want him to really hurt himself when we compete.”

Mako nodded, “Okay, I’ll go see what I can do.” He stood with a grunt and trundled out of the locker room clutching his phone to his ear.

As Korra tended to Bolin, she pondered her “Asami issue.” More specifically, she ran through her dream for the thousandth time in a row. Usually, if Korra was anxious or trying to ignore something, her brain would send her some batshit dream to remind her that she couldn’t repress her feelings. 

Now she just couldn’t let it go. The sweat, the heat, and the closeness were both alien and familiar. Korra wasn’t entirely inexperienced when it came to boys, she’d thought she had discovered what everyone was talking about during that festival, but even dreaming about being with Asami had proved how out of her depth she was. She was drowning thinking about their lips so close and uncomfortable in ways she wasn’t prepared for when she remembered their legs tangled on the couch. 

Trying not to flush at the thought, Korra realized she appreciated the space she’d had this week. Asami had abruptly stopped flirting with her but she decided she should feel relieved. She needed some time to process things without being constantly overwhelmed by the newness of her emotions. Space was good. 

Mako strolled back in; “So, Asami’s going to pick us up in 10 minutes. Her building has a hot tub.” He looked at Korra like she should be pleased or something and she scowled. Fucking Mako.

Sighing, she let the water splash back into its bucket and prodded Bolin awake; “Hey, we’re taking you to a pool to heal your back. Get ready to go.”

“Huuh, what?” Bolin blinked dumbfounded as Mako and Korra hauled him to his feet and grabbed his bag.

“Asami has a pool. Korra's going to heal your back. We’re going there now,” Mako outlined testily.

Bolin grinned like a dope, “Yayyy, Asami.”

That same, red Sato Racer pulled up promptly in ten minutes. Asami peered at Bolin concerned before asking Korra and Mako, “What happened?”

“Lin’s being Lin and Bolin hurt his back. Korra said she could heal him better if we used a pool so I called you.” Mako hefted Bolin into the front seat and piled in with Korra, practically giving her a lap dance as Bolin hogged half the back by leaning his seat all the way down.

“What a gentleman,” Korra intoned dryly as Mako mashed her into the window. Asami narrowed her eyes. Weird.

They chit chatted about random crap while Korra attempted to quelch her nervousness. In addition to the odor of sweaty gear, the car was filled with that same floral fragrance she recognized from her dream. Pretending she didn't even like it, she rolled down her window.

Fresh air whipped lilac scent past her nose and she breathed in deep. Korra scowled: she did like it. A lot.

To her surprise, Asami wasn’t as primly dressed as usual. She was weirdly wearing old-fashioned jodhpurs, thick work gloves, and her canvas jacket. Her hair curled wildly under a pair of pushed up goggles and smudges of grease adorned her chin. She was the dirtiest Korra had ever seen her and she decided for once Asami was a mess. A really  _ hot  _ mess. 

Blushing, Korra wished she could slap her brain. 

After winding down a deserted industrial road, they eventually parked across from a squat warehouse on the opposite arm of Yue Bay to the arena. Asami turned four heavy locks before leading them inside. The interior was wooded and windowed, allowing dying streams of autumn light to illuminate half-finished machines and equipment scattered across the bottom floor. Suspended above her chaotic workspace, Asami had converted the old office into a fashionable loft. Korra, Mako, and Bolin stared open-mouthed as she showed them around. Besides two closed doors Korra assumed led to Asami’s bedroom and bathroom, her airy apartment bled openly from one room to the next.

Asami climbed atop a stool and pulled a short cord, releasing a rickety ladder. Korra and Mako helped push Bolin up each step and then gasped. Asami’s roof had a full view of the bay and downtown as well as a hot tub.

Turning excitedly, Bolin exclaimed, “Holy heck, this is so cool!” 

“Thanks! I bought the hot tub on an impulse so I’m glad there’s finally a purpose for it.”

After popping off the lid, Asami carefully helped Korra and Mako slide in Bolin wearing only his boxer shorts. “Woo…Thanks guys! If I knew back pain could get you a full staff and a hot tub, I would have injured myself much earlier.” 

Mako reached in and splashed him with a little water. After rolling up her sleeves, Korra added, “Be quiet. Talking too much is bad for back pain.”

Bolin chuckled then floated outstretched as Korra massaged out the stress on his back and hip with gentle swirls of glowing water. Sighing happily as the healing took effect, he relaxed, letting the water soothe his stressed muscles. Longingly, Mako asked, “Can you do me too? I’m still really sore...”

Korra nodded, unceasingly moving the water with long, slow motions. After an hour, she woke Bolin up again and bent off most of the water. Happily, he waddled down the ladder tucked in a fluffy towel and called for Mako. He was in far better condition than Bolin so Korra finished his session in only twenty minutes. She was about to head down the trapdoor after him when Asami climbed out wrapped in a towel. 

Almost sheepishly, she asked, “Hey, I know you must be pretty tired but I’ve been having some shoulder issues...”

Korra swallowed and nodded: “Sure…” 

Graceful as always, Asami lowered herself into the warm water and floated lightly on the surface. Nervous, Korra began with small twists of water near Asami’s shoulders that eventually widened outwards, becoming large currents reaching her whole body.

As Korra concentrated, she began to notice the small things; Asami held a ridiculous amount of tension in her neck muscles, her feet were calloused and gnarled suggesting dance training, and her hands were heavily scarred. Unfortunately, she also had problems ignoring things she probably shouldn’t pay as much attention to; how the ethereal blue water rippled over Asami’s lithe, long legs, the muscled line that softly halved her torso, and how...well-proportioned her figure looked in the fading light.

This healing session needed to end soon. 

After focusing on Asami’s shoulder, Korra did a thorough pass over to test for other injuries. Satisfied she hadn’t missed anything, she breathed out and returned the water to its normal state. 

“Okay, I think that’s everything.” Her voice sounded weirdly breathy, she really needed to get a grip on Asami. Wait, NO! She needed to get a grip, goddamit.

Asami sat up and climbed out then Korra bent off some of the water. After she bundled herself in a towel, they made dancing eye contact. Korra really didn’t know what to do with her hands, why didn’t she have pockets to shove them into when she really needed them?

Also, did Asami plan this ridiculously good lighting? She was backdropped by the city lights glinting off the surface of the water and her eyes glimmered intensely as she took Korra in.

“Thanks for that. It really helped actually. And...umm….” 

Woah, Asami actually sounded awkward. This was a first.

“Well, congratulations on you and Mako,” she finished quickly. Wait, Korra was confused.

“What? I’m confused,” she stated. Asami’s cheeks tinged pink which definitely broke some law in Korra World. 

“Bolin told me you and Mako kissed, and you two are so affectionate and all. I just thought you were dating.”

Korra laughed a little too hard. “Hahaha….NO. Definitely not. Mako kissed me when we were drunk to hide from his crazy ex-boyfriend and I didn’t beat him up because Bolin got sad.”

“Oh,” she said quietly, still awkward.

Korra couldn’t let this rare moment pass, “Why do you mention it? Were you jealous?”

Asami seemed a little shocked Korra was so bold and flushed a bit darker. Korra decided she  _ really _ liked it when she wasn’t the one embarrassed. Just as she started to gloat, Asami’s gaze transitioned into something familiarly mischievous. Oh no.

Asami slowly stepped towards her, her smile only growing. Leaning close, she smirked as she ran one elegant finger along the line of Korra’s collarbone. The air pressed in and Korra was having a hard time breathing. After pausing for an eternity, Asami seriously remarked, “Not quite. I really enjoy flirting with you and you’re so cute when you blush  _ and _ when you glare…Mako’s great and all but I’d be so disappointed if you were hooked by such a stiff.”

Oh no.

“I...ahh. Um.” Korra flushed so hard her brain shut down from oxygen deprivation; she just stared shocked at Asami’s gleeful grin. She had flipped this situation real fast and Korra just couldn’t keep up. Somehow still smiling, Asami gently tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. 

It was suddenly very hot for outdoors on an Autumn night and Korra might actually be melting. Asami came closer so their bodies were inches apart and Korra decided she was  _ definitely _ melting. This would be her legacy: “Legend of Avatar Puddle.” They stood tantalizingly near for seconds longer, Asami’s fingertips lingering on the skin at the hollow of her throat.

“Hey, guys! Want to make some popcorn and watch a Varrick movie?” 

They jumped apart as Bolin popped his head out of the trapdoor. Asami recovered in a flash to say, “Sure! Sounds fun,” while Korra only managed faint recognition of what was happening.

Squinting at Korra, who still felt unsure about the specifics of her state of matter, Bolin asked, “Are you okay? You look kind of dazed.”

Asami’s smug look became smugger if that was even possible.

“What? Oh...Umm, yeah. Yeah, definitely super okay.” Korra felt faint.

After Korra tripped down the ladder, Asami, smiling wickedly, gave her pajamas and she fled to the bathroom, praying they would actually fit this time. Taking a few deep breaths, she dialed Tenzin to see if she could stay the night. She had agreed to in the car and she didn’t want to commute back to the island this late; Tenzin had been especially lenient with the tournament and midterms approaching so she hoped healing the brothers was enough of an excuse to allow her to stay a weeknight. He agreed reluctantly, “Very well, but please remember your training schedule must return to normal next week.” Korra nodded along, still bewildered.

“And, Korra? I know I’ve been rather harsh and I know you’re working hard. Well...I just wanted to acknowledge that you’re a good student and you’ll master airbending soon enough. Don’t doubt yourself.”

The sentiment finally broke through her thick shock, she knew in the back of her mind Tenzin cared for her but it was nice to hear out loud.

“Okay, you have my word I’ll do my best. Thanks for everything, Tenzin.”

Hanging up, Korra took a breath. She needed to calm the fuck down, not only was she  overheated mentally but her body was in serious distress. Things needed to settle enough for her to be sure she wasn’t having a stroke. Washing her face and hands with warm water, she attempted to regain a sense of control. Really, that was the whole issue; she couldn’t control her emotions about Asami and she definitely couldn’t control her responses to Asami. 

Pulling on a surprisingly reasonable pair of shorts and a tank top, she decided she needed a game plan, some set rules. First, no sleeping near or around Asami, she wasn’t ready for that type of proximity. Second, she had to try and make sure they were with people at all times unless she chose to be alone and let things happen. Third, she needed to talk this shit out with Jinora…

Prepared and calmer, Korra walked out into the living room. She hadn’t spotted a TV, but Asami was setting up a digital projector while Bolin and Mako picked a movie. She was wearing black-rimmed glasses and Korra decided her rules were  _ not  _ comprehensive in the event of Asami in glasses. Shaking her head, she focused on the game plan: ‘ _ stay strong, glasses are for nerds.’ _

Asami tossed her hair to one side and began fiddling with a switch on the underside on the small projector, scowling adorably.

_ Hot nerds. _

Korra shook her head, trying to get it together. Thankfully, Bolin asked her be the tie-breaker on the movie, creating a nice distraction. Mako wanted some cop thing, while Bolin demanded an assortment of Varrick “the genius” movies. 

They eventually put something on no one payed much attention to. They had embarked on a pillow fort fueled by Mako’s boundless pessimism, Korra and Bolin’s docile willingness, and Asami’s engineering skills.

In the end, it was a huge mess more due to Korra than anything. Despite her mental pep talk, every time Asami’s hands brushed hers, holding the corner of a blanket of handing her a pillow, she jerked or fumbled. Mako and Bolin didn’t really seem to notice but Asami definitely smirked a little wider every time and Korra got the impression she was being fucked with. 

Even though their fort was ugly (Bolin had named it the _ S.S. Bertha-Lee _ ), they all piled inside to watch the end of the movie and eat snacks. Korra had purposely maneuvered herself on Mako’s side of  _ Bertha _ , placing both him and Bolin between her and Asami. 

The next morning, Korra woke out of habit at 6 AM. She was pissed and groggy but knew she had to run anyway. After a quick jog down to the water and back up the hill, she tried to sneak back in the window to the bathroom. Raising the concrete to the second story, she gripped the sill and let the earth fall back to its normal level. As she pulled herself up and in the window, she made direct eye-contact with Asami opening the bathroom door. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it's not as slow burn as I thought it would be so I'm probably going to udpate the tags. I got impatient? Please let me know what you think.


	8. Windosills and Car Rides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry this took forever. School is kicking my butt and I definitely had some difficulty figuring out exactly how to do this chapter. But good news, it's twice as long and bascially all korrasami, so enjoy. Also, I want to start replying to all the comments. So if you have a comment, I will reply. I really enjoyed reading all the ones from the last update so please give me more. *thirsty for praise and conversation*

 

Korra flapped her arms as she tumbled forward and banged her head on the toilet. Massaging a tender lump swelling above her brow, she sat planted on the cold floor until she remembered why she’d fell. She jerked her gaze to meet Asami’s openmouthed staring with equal shock. Shutting the bathroom door without a word, Asami leaned over her to peer out the window and down to the hard concrete two stories below. After thirty seconds of scanning, she turned to Korra with an expression demanding answers.

“Heyyyy, Asami...What’s are you doing here...in your bathroom…” Fuck, that was so weak but she had nothing plausible to offer and kinda couldn’t think when Asami leaned over her like that. Korra let out a big breath once Asami retreated from her cramped little space.

“Well, it is _my_ bathroom. What were you doing climbing in the second story window?” Asami’s foot began tapping a regular, demanding beat that transported Korra to her high school principal's office.

“Lin makes me run in the mornings and I didn’t know how open your door--you have like a hundred locks--so I snuck in the window...”

“Mmm hmm. Go on.”

“What do you mean ‘go on?’ That’s the entire thing,” Korra lied, her voice rising pitch. She’d hoped they could ignore the whole “second story” subject.

Smiling blandly, Asami reminded her, “You neglected to mention how you managed to scale a sheer wall 25 feet and reach the window.”

Korra cleared her throat.

“Oh, that. Yeah. Well, I wouldn’t want to bore you with the details….I actually have to go to school now...so, bye.” She hopped to her feet and attempted to dart through the door. Asami crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, blocking her way.

“See, to me, that doesn’t sound like much of an explanation. I would honestly love for you to bore me with some details.”

Korra’s imagined _that_ conversation: ‘ _Gee, Asami. I’m actually the avatar and I used earthbending to sneak in your window. Don’t tell anyone, ‘kay?’_

Not going to happen. She might be a nervous wreck around Asami but she wasn’t going to stay and get interrogated or spill her secrets because she had a crush.

“No, thanks. I think I’ll be going now.”

Asami didn’t budge. “I really need you to give me an explanation, Korra.”

Korra felt a spark of anger harden her resolve. Asami might have the upper hand when it came to looks, money, success, brains, height, and flirting, but she was the _fucking avatar_ and she wouldn’t be bullied. Striding forward, Korra quietly declared, “Sorry, but I have to leave. Move.”

“Or what?” Asami met her glare with deep green eyes but Korra didn’t waver. She was enjoying her life and she wouldn’t allow the world to crash in and demand she fix everyone’s problems. She was not backing down.

Without menace, she replied, “Or I’ll move you.” Asami’s eyes widened as Korra marched forward so their faces were inches apart.

“What’ll it be?”

They stood staring for a couple beats and then, in less than a second, the air changed; Korra’s anger fell to the side as she realized their closeness. Asami’s challenging stare morphed into something almost eager and she glided a step back. Korra followed her inch for inch until Asami’s back fit flush with the door. Reaching around her mechanically, she turned the knob.

The door jolted open an inch, breaking them from their silent challenge. Korra spotted a light blush dusting Asami’s cheeks when they locked eyes again.

Now that the door was cracked, Korra knew she should just leave, but she wanted to slam it back shut, to entomb them in the space they’d stretched together. Asami eyes searched hers with an expectant seriousness and her body leaned towards Korra’s, molding itself to the curves of the wavering gap between them.

More than ever, Korra wanted to destroy that gap, to eradicate one, little inch.

As if Mako had misread her mind, he yanked open the bathroom door, spilling them onto the floor in a heap.

Korra hastily rolled away and jumped to her feet, “Hey! Ever heard of knocking?!”

Asami, still composed, adjusted her hair and turned an icy glare his way.

Mako held up his hands in surrender, “ _Sorry,_ geez! What were you guys even doing in the bathroom together, anyway?”

She stammered; she wasn’t good under pressure. Unfazed, Asami cut in, “Korra wanted me to help her with her hair and she needed a tampon.”

Mako flushed hard and stopped asking questions. Korra was impressed; that was the most effective way to shut him up she’d witnessed.

Continuing as if Mako wasn’t fire engine-red, Asami tossed her hair over one shoulder and stated, “I was going to drive Korra to school. If you two want a ride too we should leave in thirty minutes.”

Damn. Korra sighed in frustration and collected her things. Per usual, Asami outplayed her just when she thought she’d escaped. Also, were the brothers genetically predisposed to interrupt them or were they doing this on purpose?

The ride to campus rolled past sleepy and thick: Bolin dozed, Mako blinked at the passing scenery, and Korra sat rigid in the back and tried to process. After dropping Mako off at the quad, Asami drove Bolin and Korra to spiritology. Before she could escape to class, Asami stopped her with an insistent hand on her shoulder.

“Hey Bolin, Korra will catch up. We just need to talk about something real quick.”

Bolin yawned and waved a careless hand in their direction before stumbling towards Kyoshi Hall. Korra supposed this was unavoidable.

“So. You really need to explain how you got up to the window. Either you have crazy waterbending powers, you can fly, or I’m missing something.”

_‘Lucky for me, you’re missing something.’_ Korra griped.

“Look, Asami, can’t you just let it go? Like, seriously, I don’t have to tell you anything and I really don’t need to add ‘being investigated’ to my list of stressful shit to deal with.”

Asami’s eyebrows shot skyward. “So you want me to just ignore that you somehow levitated 25 feet and snuck into my house?”

“Yes, exactly. That would be really cool of you.”

“No.” Asami declared, resolute.

But Korra wasn’t folding either.

Shrugging, she shouldered open the door and briskly walked after Bolin.  


The hours before Korra’s tutor class whizzed by faster than normal. Through her lectures, she stewed about her predicament as the second hand ticked by. She dreaded seeing Asami again but, more than anything, she cursed herself for acting so careless. If she hadn’t been so impulsive and ran later, she could’ve avoided this whole situation. She hated acknowledging it, but maybe her teachers were right; she had never been meticulous, patient, or analytical.

Korra realized then that, in many ways, she was still a child. She’d never fended for herself or made her own decisions. Even now, posing as a normal college kid, she was hiding, too scared to be the avatar and too scared to live without permission. After thinking it through, she knew she needed to reveal herself soon. If she was found out, she would be labelled a coward or remembered as the avatar who shirked her duties.

But either way, she decided she would announce it when _she_ was ready, not just because Asami was curious.

When the hour arrived, she trudged to the classroom, dreading her probable interrogation. She slipped in right as the bell rang, while Asami was still distributing today’s packet. She looked suspiciously smug so Korra sat on the opposite end of the classroom before turning the first page. Question one read:

_“Calculate the acceleration in the upwards direction needed to launch a 68 kilogram object 7.6 meters into a second story window. Use 9.81 m/s^2 as the acceleration due to gravity.”_

Korra blanched. Flipping through her packet, she realized the distances were all either 25 feet or 7.6 meters and the mass values were all 150 pounds or 68 kilograms. Throwing things into windows and from heights was the common theme.

This was so not okay.

To her classmates, she knew the questions were arbitrary but it unsettled her how publicly Asami was willing to question her. Korra spent the class period staring at her paper, refusing to start any of the problems.

When the bell rang, she stomped up to Asami’s desk.

“What’s your problem? Why can’t you just let it go?”

Asami pushed up her stupid, cute glasses and leaned back.

“I take it you don’t like calculating acceleration?” she asked coolly.

“I don’t like you prying into my life and acting like you deserve to know everything about me.” Korra retorted.

“You’ve been acting evasive and weird since I met you! And then you literally scaled a 30 foot wall and snuck into my window, I think that gives me the right to ask some questions.”

Enraged, Korra began to reply when Asami cut her off.

“Look, I like you, Korra. I consider us friends, at least. I'll stop acting so overt but I don't understand what's so important that you need to be this secretive.”

Korra stood tight-lipped and tense.

Sighing, Asami began shoving her things in her bag, “I’m sorry I upset you and I’ll drop it for now….Are we cool?”

At first Korra wanted to scream “NO,” but Asami looked at her with an earnest expression she found hard to resist from behind those glasses. The most reasonable path would be to stop hanging out with Asami; she was too suspicious and smart to fool for long. But Korra new she couldn’t do that. They _were_ friends after all. She decided she could let the packet thing go as long as Asami really did drop the subject; if their roles were reversed and Asami had snuck into her window she supposed she would have been curious too. Swallowing, Korra nodded once and tried to banish her residual anger.

Asami delivered a tentative smile and finished packing her stuff. Bent over scattered notebooks so Korra couldn’t see her expression, she asked, “Would you like to get lunch? I know Mako and Bolin are probably already at Narook’s, but it might be fun to get food and go for a drive if you’d like to.”

Wow, okay. “Just the two of us?”

Asami nodded, studying an eroded eraser.

“Yeah. I’d like that,” Korra answered to her surprise. She’d replied without thinking, her anger already a memory. Asami looked up from her neat stack of things and gave her another cautious smile.

This was not the Asami she was used to. Her uncertainty was bizarre, matching the fact she’d just asked Korra to hang out by themselves: a first. Then she realized she didn’t know anything about Asami you might small-talk about. None of their conversations were exactly casual; most were too intense, borderline flirting, or argumentative.

They walked out to Asami’s car together, maintaining a buzzing distance. Korra tried to remember the rules she’d set the night before; she was almost positive one of them had been “avoid being alone with Asami;” she shrugged. Too late now. As they cruised away from campus, Korra stared out the window and tried to think of something to say.

Asami spoke first: “So you really can’t drive anything?”

Korra chuckled, she was really stuck on that.

“Nope. Unless you live in the city, most people in the south drive snowmobiles, but I haven’t been trusted with one since I was 12.”

Smirking, Asami asked, “What happened?”

“Well, I was at my parent’s house for the weekend and I’d been begging my dad to let me try it for weeks. He finally told me I could drive it around the house, which is surrounded by this empty, snowy area.”

“Okay. So what could you even crash into?”

“Umm, well, I was a bit of a power hungry 12 year old, so I actually started driving away from the house and towards Harbor City.”

Asami snickered and waitied for the rest.

Grimacing at the memory, Korra continued, “I guess I never really got the hang of steering. It was really easy in the Tundra because there wasn’t anything to hit but as soon as I got to the city, I crashed into the first building I came across...which happened to be the police station.”

Asami giggled and shook her head, unsurprised but amused.

“I see now why no one’s let you near their car since. I guess you’re lucky because I _did_ promise to teach you to drive before I heard this story.”

Korra smiled. She liked the idea that they might spend more time together like this.

Watching Asami smoothly shift gears, she asked, “So when did you learn to drive? That one time we ‘escaped’ from our balloon heist you showed off some pretty crazy skills.”

“My dad taught me from his lap as soon as I could walk. I actually used to race for the Sato Formula 1 team.”

“Holy shit, I don’t know anything about driving but that sounds pretty serious.”

“It was definitely an experience. I’ll show you all my other cars sometime.” Korra snorted, of course there were “other cars.”

Asami rolled down her window so the cab whistled with the passing air. It was one of the last nice days of fall before the weather turned sour and the bending season really picked up. She only rolled it back up when the neighborhood shifted from the grand tree-line avenues in the University District to blocks of chugging factories. Grey lots, graffitied boxcars, and encroaching brambles tumbled past the window and Korra noticed how Asami’s life innately intertwined with the heavy machinery and tangled train tracks woven through the city. But after several more moments, Korra also realized she had no idea where they were.

“Hey, Asami,” she asked, breaking their comfortable silence.

“Yeah?”

“Umm....Where are we going?”

“Oh. Right. Well, there’s this really funny diner right by one of Future Industries’ old plants I wanted to take you too. Would that be cool? I can definitely get you back to class on time.”

“Yeah, sure. I was just sort of wondering.”

“Sorry. I got kind of excited, I guess.” Asami changed lanes, paying little attention.

And Korra felt stupidly happy. “Oh...Were you excited about lil’ ol’ me?” she asked, teasing in a vain attempt to hide her spreading smile.

Asami blushed but flashed her that cock-sure grin: “Of course. If you haven’t noticed you’re ridiculously cute.”

Korra always lost this game.

Since the catastrophe that morning, she’d been too preoccupied to worry over their recent tension. But she was definitely thinking about it now. Maybe this was a….date?

Before she could freak herself out, they pulled up to a squat, slope-roofed diner hemmed by warehouses. There was a yellow sign simply emblazoned “Ping’s.” They walked up to the wooden doors as Asami rushed, “So I need to warn you about the waitress. Her name’s June, she usually works nights, but I know she works afternoons Fridays.”

Korra nodded along.

“Well, she’s super rude basically but she likes me and I enjoy watching her be abusive and snarky to people. Just be prepared for her to say weird things to you.”

Korra laughed. That definitely fit her idea of Asami’s character; she loved to fuck with people.

As they walked in, Korra was shocked by sassy splashes of orange and pink. The booths were upholstered with vibrant vinyl seats, though few were rip free, and the tabletops and counters had a plasticky look. But the most striking thing was the mountain of airplane memorabilia lining the walls and the ceiling. Models hung haphazard from every hook, signed photos of the Blue Spirits fighter pilot team covered the walls, and flight helmets clustered in dusty corners.

Korra was staring around when a brusque, raspy voice complained, “Oh brother.”

A petite, dark woman with round glasses and curled black hair looked her up and down. She wore an old-fashioned apron over a demure, pastel pink dress; a heavy contrast to her annoyed expression. Her nametag read “June.”

“I suppose you want to eat here?” She demanded.

Korra nodded. Did she do something wrong?

June snatched a menu and darkly muttered, “Thought so,” before stalking off. Asami gave her a reassuring smile and reached around her to grab another menu, following the angry waitress to a booth near the window.

June shot Asami a surprised look when she sat down with Korra.

“You’re with this bozo here?” She asked with a dismissive head toss.

She nodded; “Yep, this is Korra. Korra, this is June.”

June gave Korra a blunt “Hi,” then stomped off with a pat on Asami’s shoulder.

When Korra was sure she was out of earshot she let out a breath and whispered, “Wow, she sure is an experience.”

Asami laughed a nervous laugh: “If you don’t like it we could go somewhere else. This place is kind of weird, I know.”

After examining the dusty factory workers and greasy mechanics sitting scattered through the small dining room, she decided she liked it here. It was plain yet unapologetically weird. Everything about the small diner had character: the angry waitress, the hungover cook, the dusty models, and the introverted flock of regulars. And she knew she never would have discovered it herself if Asami hadn’t let her in on the secret.  

“No. This is really cool, thanks for taking me.”

Asami visibly relaxed. It was strange how uneasy she had been; usually, she never displayed uncertainty and held the upper hand when they’d flirted but now she radiated self-consciousness.

Trying to put her at ease, Korra started asking all the small-talk questions she’d harbored the last few weeks.

Apparently, Asami was actually getting her graduate degree in applied math but she needed to TA for someone as a final requirement. She worked for an engineering firm and did IT stuff online for extra cash. When she asked why Asami didn’t just work for Future Industries, she clammed up so Korra dropped it.

“Okay, now for the important questions,” Korra started, talking in a faux-serious tone.

Asami matched her forward posture with a small smile touching her lips.

“What...is your favorite type of cereal?” Korra sat back with her arms crossed.

“You’ve gone too far. You’re asking too much.” Asami replied dryly.

“Asami, breakfast is important to me. You can’t be glib about cereal. You just can’t. If we are going to be friends, I need to know.”

“I don’t even eat breakfast most days,” she replied with a shrug.

Korra was legitimately scandalized.

“What the heck? Eat breakfast! You’re going to waste away, I can see you start to shrink to nothing right now.”

Asami laughed at Korra’s affronted expression until June popped up out of nowhere and dropped two waters on the table.

“Know what you want?” She fired.

Crap, Korra hadn’t even glanced at the menu yet. After a quick peak inside she ordered the “747 Jumbo Liner” and a chocolate milkshake. June grumbled about the milkshake since she would have to make it but jotted it down anyway.

Turning to Asami, she sweetly asked, “The usual, honey?”

Asami nodded with a smile. Once June had thundered off, Korra looked over her shoulder before whispering, “How come she likes you so much?”

“I kinda come here all the time.”

“Oh. Huh.”

Korra watched June harass a stunned group of tourists who’d swept in the door and laughed as they hurried out in a huff. She could understand Asami’s affection; June stalked the diner like a territorial house cat, offering fondness to an exclusive set.

When she turned back, Asami examined her with a searching expression, “So.”

“So?”

“I really like you...”

Korra choked on her water.

“And I guess I was just wondering if you would want to go on a date with me.”

Ahhhhhh. After she’d finished hacking, Korra just stared as she tried to make words. Asami’s face was stiff and expressionless. She actually seemed anxious Korra would say no. Snarky, confident, hot, champion fighter, Asami Sato, worried that _Korra_ of all people would reject her.

She realized Asami had become increasingly uncomfortable as she’d left her question unanswered.

“Yes! Ummm, yeah, definitely. Yes.”

Asami’s stiff expression relaxed into a relieved smile. Korra was more than a little shocked that that had just happened. Suddenly she wanted them to have concrete plans, not just a hazy conversation she couldn’t rely on later; “Ah, when? Like, where slash when? You know, what’s the plan….stan? Hahaha…”

She was botching this.

Asami began to recollect her confidence. Smiling devilishly, she asked, “How about right now. Could this be a date?”

Korra choked again. If she survived this outing without a heimlich maneuver it would be a christmas miracle come early.

She stuttered, “Y-yes. I….Umm….I don’t really know how to date though, and I’m not dressed very well.”

“That’s okay,” Asami leaned forward across the booth like she was sharing a secret, “me neither.”

“You look pretty well-dressed to me, “Korra replied thoughtlessly.

Asami’s face split with a self-satisfied smile while Korra turned a new shade of scarlet.

“That’s not what I meant, dork. I was saying that I don’t really know how to date.”

“How’s that possible, though? You’re always in the tabloids for romantic stuff.”

“Have you been keeping up on me?” Asami asked with delighted amusement.

“No.” Korra cursed Jinora’s bad influence.

Asami primly pursed her lips, “Well, I wouldn’t really consider those relationships about dating per se.”

“What were they about then?”

She gave Korra a look, “I’m sure you can figure that out. You’re both hot and smart.”

Korra could figure that out.

Before she could embarrass herself more, June did the kindest thing she had all afternoon and delivered their food. Korra had unwittingly ordered enough to feed a family of five so June had to make two tension cutting trips to deliver all six heaping plates. She muttered under her breath but seemed to accept Korra as Asami’s friend until it came to the milkshake; that she dropped on the table with a resentful amount of force.

Once she’d left, Korra began to plow through her food, trying to avoid embarrassing herself more.

“You can relax, you know. Since I’ve never ‘dated’ anyone before either, we can just figure things out as we go along.”

Swallowing a huge, mistimed bite Korra asked, “How come? Like why haven’t you dated anyone? You must have had lots of offers.”

“Most people aren’t very interesting or have other motivations.”

“Other motivations?”

“Yeah. They usually want money or something totally unrelated to my personality.”

Trying to joke, Korra said, “You caught me. I actually want you to be my fighting coach-math tutor-sugar mama-sex slave.”

Asami let out a short laugh.

“Hmm. I wouldn’t mind a couple of those things…”

Korra screamed internally.

“....I am a pretty good math tutor.”

“Heh heh…” Korra rubbed her neck and the silence stretched.

Asami noticed she was out of her element,* “Let’s just talk like we were before. No pressure.”

“Yeah, okay. No pressure...about _dates_. Or dating. Or….yeah.”

Rolling her eyes, Asami continued, “Okay, now my turn to ask questions.”

Cautious, Korra asked, “What do you want to know?”

“We’ll start easy and move on to the harder stuff. What’s your favorite probending team?”

“The Otter Penguins.”

“Really? They’re the worst team in the league!”

Korra tensed, “No one understands… They just haven’t _realized_ their potential yet.”

“It’s been 20 years…”

“They will succeed!”

“Okay.…”

They ended up talking the next few hours, her spiritology class forgotten. It was odd how their similarities gelled: though she didn’t mention it, Korra got the feeling Asami was accustomed to loneliness in the same way she was. She seemed so gratified when Korra understood the little things she slipped into her speech and often surprised when she questioned a careless phrase.

Unfortunately, Asami listened to her just as keenly, catching leading words and expressions she would rather have left unnoticed.

“Okay so time for the serious questions,” Asami leaned forward, mirroring Korra’s earlier pose. It was already fading to dusk outside the diner’s grimy windows.

“My most embarrassing third grade moment wasn’t serious enough for you?” Korra tilted across the booth with a small smile tugging at one side of her mouth.

“No. You eating a jar of glue by mistake couldn’t satisfy me.”

“That’s as serious as I get. I’m kind of shallow, you know.”

“I doubt that,” Asami smirked. “That would be really boring and you don’t strike me as boring. Quite the opposite actually.”

A stockinged foot began sliding up Korra’s calf and her confidence evaporated. It was suddenly very hot again; she half-expected to turn and see June ratcheting up the heat and laughing at her flushing, wide-eyed face.

“Whaa...Umm.” Asami snickered as she failed to regain her composure. Her foot paused at Korra’s knee and she arched one brow, waiting for an answer.

“I, ahh hmm. W-what do you want to know?”

“Well, I was wondering, would you….” Asami’s foot slid further up as she leaned farther across the booth, green eyes dancing.

“....want a ride to the docks?”

Korra had been holding her breath for something much, much different. Asami knew it too, she leaned back and laughed while Korra sat open mouthed and still, staring at her flashing teeth and crinkled eyes.

“You’re too easy. It’s really cute.”

“And _you_ are such a tease!”

“Do you want me to stop teasing? I could do that for you….” she offered, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. She assumed Asami meant it as a joke but it had the opposite effect.

Korra nearly fainted; she’d gone from straight to hopelessly gay in a matter of days and solid to liquid in a matter of seconds. It had to be acknowledged: Asami Sato was extremely hot and flirting hardcore with _her, Korra_. She was a dork and Asami wanted to go on dates with her; as in: be seen in public together.

Also, was that a real offer? Because Korra had no idea about what to do about it if it was.

She found herself saying, “I umm have a tournament tomorrow so, yeah. I should go to my home. Where I live.”

Smiling, Asami stood and twirled her keys around one finger. They went up front to pay the tab, which Asami insisted on picking up.

June gave her a look but didn’t comment.

The ride down to the dock was dark and silent but for the muffled roar of passing cars and the oscillating brightness from streetlights passing overhead. Asami kept one hand on the gearshift, the other on the wheel, never straying. Korra watched her drive for a while before letting the dull parade of chain link fences lull her into the gloaming.

When they arrived, Asami turned into an open spot and pulled up the parking brake. Shy, Korra gazed across the water and waited. Neither of them spoke as they watched the day’s final ferry bob towards the pier.

Korra debated with herself, would now be a good time to kiss Asami? They had been on one “date” and were going on more. She could do that, right? That’s what people who date do. Looking at Asami side-eyed she wavered back and forth. She didn’t want to ruin this and she had so little experience but she also _really_ wanted to….

The ferry’s horn blared, signaling that it was time to load passengers.

Korra had made up her mind; she turned, intending to go for it, but Asami was already studying her with an intensity Korra didn’t know how to handle. She didn’t seem nervous, but she was still as she watched her, maybe even viewing the debate telecasted across her face.

Taking a deep breath, Korra leaned over to Asami’s side of the cab and….chickened out at the last moment. Instead of kissing her, She stretched her neck to touch her lips to the soft skin of Asami’s cheek. Sitting back, Korra watched surprise mix with amusement in the set of her mouth.

Before she could react, she felt Asami’s hands clutch the collar of her shirt and they were kissing.

Her lips were soft, melding with hers even as they pressed closer. Korra couldn’t hear anything but the dull roar behind her ears and her pounding pulse, she was drowning in lilac and she decided this was exactly how she’d want to die

Breathing hard through her nose, she matched Asami feverish rhythm as her fingers wound through soft black hair. Asami wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled her closer as Korra ran her tongue over the seal between their mouths, tasting waxy notes of red lipstick and shivering when Asami’s tongue joined hers. They merged into a frantic pace, holding each other close.

And Korra realized she’d wanted this all along. She may have misread her attraction at first but it had always been there, building under the surface until she couldn’t _not_ acknowledge it. Now it was plain that she was an idiot and she really, really wanted Asami Sato.

Korra let out a small gasp as Asami slid one hand from her neck to her waist. Thinking she’d gone too far, Asami pulled away and removed her hand, her brows forming a question. Korra leaned forward and reclaimed her lips, moving herself closer until Asami placed her hand back on her waist. Untangling her hands from Asami’s hair, Korra began moving them down her back, feeling a current buzzing between her palms and the thin fabric.

But before she could get far, another blast from the ferry’s horn prompted them to break apart. Panting, they sat close, foreheads touching. Korra breathed in Asami’s hard breaths and tried to collect a coherent thought.

She was glad to see Asami looked as flushed and bothered as her. Her hair was mussed from Korra hands, her lipstick smeared, and her pupils wide and deep black. The light filtering through the windshield washed out her already pale face and Korra imagined they were trapped underwater. Deep and alone, crushed together beneath the flickering surface.

Asami began to tap her fingers on Korra’s waist, starting with her pointer finger and moving out towards her pinky, over and over again. It was maddening and Korra highly considered missing her ferry and staying in this car the rest of the night.

As she warred against the need to leave, Asami broke the silence, “Hmmm. I _really_ wish you didn’t have that tournament tomorrow….”

She dipped forward, her lips ghosting an inch above Korra’s throat. Breaths skating over Korra’s hammering pulse, tickling the baby hairs at the back of her neck. She placed her lips under Korra’s chin as her hand began moving down Korra’s waist to her hip bone….

“It’s….mmmm….difficult to think when you….do that.”

Asami pulled back.

“I didn’t mean go away, though,” Korra pouted.

Asami laughed breathlessly and removed her hand.

“Don’t you have to catch that ferry? If it was up to me, you could stay here as long as you wanted but I don’t have a boat to take you back.”

Korra didn’t want to swim but damn she really didn’t want to leave. Torn, she decided she needed to either go now or face Lin’s wrath.

Cupping Asami’s face, she placed a soft kiss on her lips then opened the door and ran to the pier, calling over her shoulder, “I want another date!” She could hear Asami’s laughter follow her as she sprinted over the wooden quay.

The boat had pulled a foot away from the dock, so she had to jump the gap. The captain practically knew her so he stopped cussing mid-rant to lecture her about timeliness instead. Korra nodded along, miles away.

Plopping down in her usual seat, she gazed back at the city lights and tried to make out Asami’s car.

And it hit her.

She had just made out with Asami! When she'd made it back to the island, she walked past the airbenders in a daze, heading straight to her room. As she shut the door, she heard Meelo yell,

“YOU HAVE LIPSTICK ALL OVER YOUR FACE!”

Staring at the ceiling, Korra closed her eyes and smiled.

 

 

*lololol sorry this pun is so bad but I wrote it and then realized it was a pun, and then realized I had to include it because puns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So last update someone said "poor gay Korra" which is 200% accurate and amusing so I tried to include more of that. Also thanks for the advice about pacing, I tried to just let things happen naturally and I hope it worked out. Let me know what you think and I will start replying!


	9. Earthbenders and Tournaments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This chapter is later than I hoped. The next chapter will be following much quicker (more of it is done this time) so, yeah.

“Republic City University advance one zone!”

Korra and Mako launched forward, Mako covering as she threw her best at the Gaoling University earthbender. Republic City needed a knockout to win the match; they’d lost the first round, surprised by the fierce competition the unintimidating Gaoling squad had offered. They had tied the second after collecting themselves and strategizing between rounds. If they won this next, they would flip for one on one elimination.

The water and firebender were mediocre and Korra had little doubt she and Mako could beat them. But their earthbender was something else. They all agreed between rounds to go for the knock out; no one wanted to risk the bout on the fifty-fifty chance of an individual match with that girl.

She was ferocious; small for an earthbender but crisp and economic in a way Korra couldn’t help but admire. Her defense was impeccable and if she was breathing she was bending. No rest, no hesitation, just disk after disk.

And this tiny earthbender was the only reason their team was still standing. Gaoling was well known for good earthbenders and its earth rumble circuit but Korra was still impressed by this girl’s ruthless style. She’d knocked out Bolin earlier in the round and kept them so busy they couldn’t fire a shot at the surviving firebender. Mako had clipped him in the shoulder but it wasn’t much consolation; he was hardly a threat _with_ two arms. Now he just peppered them with small, annoying fireballs from the edge of the platform. None of his shots were powerful but they prevented the Republic squad from gaining enough momentum to knock out the earthbender girl.

As Korra dodged another disc, she realized what made her so effective; she used everything at her disposal. Her blows weren’t strong but each one landed where she aimed, and each flowed to the next. She was mechanically efficient, fast, and dogged.

But she wasn’t big or strong enough to resist a coordinated attack.

Their squad typically had one member covering and two attacking, rotating positions depending on the situation and which member of the opposite team caused the most difficulty. Since Bolin was out, Korra and Mako needed to find a way to attack together without leaving themselves defenseless. They needed a trap and they needed to set it on the fly. Korra siphoned a thick stream of water to circle her a foot from her waist.

“Mako! Blue flim-flam!” She had no time to shudder at Bolin’s stupid, made up code names. Mako nodded.  

Korra let her right hand hang low, pausing as if to catch her breath. Not one to miss an opportunity, the earthbender sent two curving disks.

But Korra wasn’t there. She’d anticipated an attack and dove right as soon as the earthbender took the bait. Mako was already positioned at the left edge of their section. As she regained her feet, Mako shot two hard blasts towards the Gaoling firebender, while Korra assaulted him with the water she’d circled around her.

Yelping he tumbled off the edge; he’d been unguarded, expecting them to attack his partner. Now, with him out of the way, they could double team her. His knockout stranded her two against one but the girl didn’t even pause. In fact, Korra noticed little perceptible change; just a flick of dark eyes to the clock and a slight clench of her jaw. She’d intended to survive and force a one on one match before she’d even lost her firebender. In a frustrating way, Korra admired that; that was smart.  

They threw high and low blows, attempting to throw her off balance. And she dodged and dipped better than any earthbender Korra had ever seen. But she wasn’t a match for the two of them.

Mako forced her back a step, kicking out a wide tongue of fire while Korra smashed a sheet of water into her side. Her stance was solid but she wasn’t sturdy enough to withstand a double blow; stunned, she stumbled into the moat with a weak splash. Hearing the gong signal victory, Korra turned to Mako with a grin. 

Then suddenly a pair of thick, sweaty arms swept her up around the middle.

“Holy heck, Korra! You used my code words like a champ and now we’re in the final!” Bolin spun her around, squeezing her in a tight bear hug.

Gasping for air, Korra tried to reply “Yeah. About that, Bolin, I don’t really know if ‘blue flim-flam’ is such a--”

“BRO! Did you see that? My strategy totally worked!” Mako crashed into their embrace.

“Blue flim-flam is a raging success!” Bolin crowed

Korra gave up and hugged them back.

They separated as the Gaoling team regained the platform. The ref motioned them to the center to shake hands. Up close, the earthbender girl stood even shorter than Korra had thought. Her dark hair hung just below her ears, framing a strong jaw, and determined, almost black, eyes.

They clasped hands, Korra commenting, “Great match! You have an awesome style. I’d love to be that efficient.”

Korra earned a small smile before she moved away.

As they thundered down from the platform, she felt a euphoric swoop in her stomach. They’d made it to the championship!

Their teammates, besides Tahno’s squad, all congratulated them with claps on the back and cheers. Beaming, Korra slung her arms around Mako and Bolin’s shoulders and paraded to their messy pile of stuff. Sitting in a circle, Mako and Korra recanted the last round and that crazy good earthbender while Bolin passed around neatly labeled tupperware. He’d been very excited the night before and cooked them all special “Bolin meals.” As far as Korra could tell, they all consisted of noodles with weird individual toppings and a special note. Her note was covered in platonic (she hoped) hearts and read: _“Korra! If you’re reading this, you’re eating championship food! For the bestest water bender I’ve ever thrown rocks at, enjoy these water chestnut noodles with seal jerky. Your rock-boy, Bolin!”_

Shooting Bolin a grateful smile, she began to scarf down her bowl.

“Korra! Don’t eat too fast. We have the championship to think about. What if you get a _cramp?_ ” Mako had been fluctuating between waspish-mess and hen-mom all weekend.

“‘Eez, Mafko. Lighften up.” Korra rolled her eyes and sprayed noodles on her bag. Mako pinched his nose, disgusted.

“I can’t just ‘ _lighten up,’_ Korra. How can we expect to beat Zaofu if you’re going to be reckless?”

“Honestly, I don’t think you could lighten up if someone drugged you. Stressing out doesn’t help you perform any better and micromanaging me just makes me want to slap you.” Korra picked her chopsticks back up, “And I’m not being reckless, I’m eating.”

Bolin suddenly stopped biting his pinky nail to interject, “Guys, we’re facing _Zaofu_. OMG I’m so nervous. What if Kuvira’s there?”

Swallowing, Korra mentioned, “Bo,’ she’s the captain….Of course, she’ll be there.”

“Oh yeah…She’s really intimidating, though. You know, Tahno told me she murdered someone once?”

“That seems unlikely.”

“But like, he sounded super sure. Mako, what do you think?” Bolin whirled, wide-eyed.

Mako huffed, clearly at the end of his short rope. “I think I can’t take you two right now! I need to go review our strategies.” Grumbling towards the bleachers, he smacked idle spectators out of his path with his notebook.

Bolin looked green.

“Hey, bud. We’re going to do fine. I don’t know much about this Kuvira person but just treat it like any other match.”  

He nodded, remaining uncharacteristically silent. Before Korra could say more, he stood and ran to the bathroom covering his mouth. She decided that was probably a bad sign.

Watching Bolin bowl over a short, green-eyed girl to get to the bathroom, Korra supposed she should feel concerned but all she’d been able to think about since she’d woken up was Asami. She’d practically floated past Tenzin, Pema, and the kids. Jinora was itching in her seat, impatient to hear the full story, while Meelo squinted at her, suspicious about the lipstick incident. Korra had stayed up half the night replaying the kiss. She’d slept maybe four hours but she didn’t even notice her heavy lids as she ran out the door.

On the ferry over, she breathed in the morning air and basked in the weak sunshine, her eyes flickering to the spot where Asami had parked her car last night. Blushing to herself, she absently ran a finger over her lips.

Katara was waiting for her on Kya’s stoop when she bounded up 20 minutes later. Korra’d agreed to bus to the train station with her since Katara despised most moving vehicles and required wheedling to ride public transportation.

Before they’d even made it a block, Katara commented; “Looks like someone’s met a nice boy.”  

“What? No!” Korra definitely hadn’t met any _boys_ that way.

“A girl then?”

“Why are you assuming I’ve met anyone?” Korra countered.

Katara snorted, “Just look at you. It’s the morning and you’re bouncing around like a smug little leopard seal. You once hurled icicles at me for waking you up at 11 AM.”

“Today’s a good day! We have the tournament, the weather’s nice, I’m picking up my grumpy teacher; what’s wrong with being excited?”

“Uh huh. Sure, sure.” Katara’s eyes twinkled; clearly humoring her.

Korra decided to lay it on thick: “Don’t you even care about the tournament? Don’t you want us to _succeed_?”

“I guess I have put a lot of work into some of you...” Hasook was Katara’s pet project. She’d been trying to make him care since day one with little improvement.

“Alright, old lady. Calm down, your abundant excitement is overwhelming.” Korra looped an arm through hers and escorted her to the bus stop.

Thankfully, they stopped talking about her lovelife, although, she could feel Katara studying her from the corner of her eye. It was a relief to deposit her with Lin and go sit with Bolin and Mako for the train ride.

It amused her how little Katara cared for probending; she enjoyed teaching but held the sport in disdain. Korra suspected she only came to Republic City for a change of scenery, to see her children, and keep an extra eye on her. She also loved bickering with Lin; that alone could have brought her up from the South Pole.

She was a patient coach but a better healer, helping ease injuries and patch them up between matches.

Luckily, the tournament started well for RCU and Katara hadn’t been needed much. Most of their squads were strong and they won more than they lost. Since the “Fire-ferrets” were in the varsity bracket, their matches were earliest. They ended the first with a one round knockout, the second went the distance but they swept both rounds, and the third against the Gaoling squad had been their stiffest competition.

Stretching out on Bolin and Mako’s lumpy duffels, Korra sighed towards the ceiling. Fighting two matches per day was beyond exhausting; this tournament was renown for burnt out squads and injuries. Cleverly, Lin had presented it as a low-stakes competition to cut the pressure on the team, good preparation for an already brutal ordeal.

Checking her phone, she decided to look in on Bolin in five minutes. He was a reactive puker and she knew it was best to just wait until he was done. Her screen flashed; she’d received a message:

100% out of Korra’s League: _Hey, how’s the tournament? Just asking because Raiko told me if you lose, you’re not allowed back in RC._

Korra felt a jolt, like a taut string plucked in her stomach. A slow grin plastered itself over her mouth as she fiddled with her phone trying to think of what to say. She was pretty sure who “100% out of Korra’s League” was supposed to be.

Korra: _Spare me_ _pls. u are speaking to an athletic prodigy. Btw, how do you have my number? And u cant be out of my league if we’re going on dates?_

Salami Sato: _I’m out of everyone’s league. And I put my number in your phone when you went to the bathroom. I also sent everyone in your contacts a link to Nuktuk erotica._

Korra frantically checked her message history, finding it erotica-free.

Korra: _u lied to me. That hurts that u would even think of doing that. Nuktuk is a tru booty shorts hero. he doesn’t deserve your sacrilege._

Salami Sato: _I can make it up to you...I just finished grading all 150 of B-section’s midterms. Would it be okay if I came and watched the tournament?_

Korra blushed hard. It was only a short train ride away but it was still flattering Asami would offer to come all the way here.

Korra: _Yeah! Our final match is at 6 though. Can you make it in time?_

Salami Sato: _I’ll drive fast ;)_

Suddenly, Korra was very, very nervous for this match.

 

_Ding!_ Korra swept her arms up fast, sending each opposite flank hard, blunt bursts. Kuvira returned rapid fire with two disks from the center, spinning fast towards Korra and Bolin. Both disks were avoided or countered. Returning fire, Mako kicked and punched volleys at an awkward, unpredictable tempo while Bolin covered and tried to pick off the waterbender in his spare moments.

Korra reveled in it; swallowed by whirlwind blocks, and blows, she knew her purpose. If she was breathing, she was fighting and she was fighting to win.

But from the first minute, it was clear this team was _good._ They communicated, each member did their job, and they were all formidable benders on their own. Kuvira directed from the center, obviously the leader. Korra had to admit she was sharp. Precise and efficient like the Gaoling girl but far more powerful and self-assured. She was clean, tactical, determined to win and willing to struggle for it.

From the first moment they’d locked eyes, Korra knew they would have a confrontation. For one thing, she was taller than her which was Annoying, for another, she recognized something in Kuvira she needed to challenge. Korra _despised_ losing, especially to someone like her. She would prove that she was the best bender. She would destroy Kuvira for being insolent enough to think they could share the same air.

Before the match, they shook hands; Kuvira’s hard grip and glare informed her the feeling was mutual.

Bolin blocked an oncoming disk with one of his own, protecting Korra’s right. She shot him a grateful smile and kicked a stream toward the firebender, attempting to knock him off balance. The waterbender parried her blow and recycled her water into an attack on Mako. Dipping the shot, he kicked a low lash of flame at Kuvira. She managed to jump it, send a disk at Korra, and continue trading dirt with Bolin,

On and on, they exchanged blows and counters, neither team gaining the advantage in round one. Round two ended with another frustrating tie but both teams’ firebenders were knocked back a zone.

When the buzzer signaled the break before the last round, they huddled up. Korra could feel sweat soaking through Mako’s jersey and Bolin’s ragged breaths rising and falling under her arms. Still energized, Korra glanced across the arena. Kuvira looked fit as ever but her teammates red faces and slumped postures spoke tiredness. They discussed in low voices and she could see Kuvira reevaluate the situation with an organized intelligence.

Turning back, Korra decided elaborate strategies wouldn’t work. They’d attempted a “Shady Shin classic” early in the second round, double teaming certain players at surprising intervals, trying to catch them unawares. It had completely failed; Kuvira recognized the strategy immediately and double teamed Mako with her firebender when he was set to cover. They’d nearly knocked him into zone three…

Even if Kuvira was too quick to con, her teammates seemed more like followers than strategists. If they could distract her, they had a chance. Mako, voicing similar thoughts, shouted above the din, “She’s too smart; the classic was totally ineffective. We need a new approach!”

After running every morning for weeks, Korra was fresh; Kuvira was fresh; the brothers were tired; Kuvira’s teammates were tired.

“What about one on one? I’m feeling good, and Kuvira’s our main issue. I can take her if you guys cover the other two.”

Mako’s face was considering, “You sure about that? She’s tough. We’re barely keeping up.” Bolin panted agreement.

Looking into his eyes, she nodded. “I’m not tired. I can do this. We can do this.”

He wavered but Bolin nodded, “You got this, Korra. I’ll cover the firebender if you take care of the waterbender, Mako.”

“...Okay. Let’s work the block on them, Bolin. And Korra, we’ll strike or counter for you if there’s an opportunity.”

They nodded and broke, walking to the centerline. Korra closed her eyes and breathed. _Asami_ was in the crowd; Tenzin had surprised her by showing up with the family; Katara and Lin were watching from the side; even the MMA team had come.

She would not lose. If she had to kill herself to do it, she would beat Kuvira.

_Ding!_

As soon as the bell rang, she attacked. For this to work, she needed to keep Kuvira so occupied she couldn’t organize her squad. She trusted Mako to take care of outsmarting the other two.

Spinning and whirling, she struck from all sides. Kuvira’s eyes narrowed; she blocked and countered but couldn’t find time to strike at Bolin or Mako. Perfect.

Ramping up her aggression, Korra forced Kuvira to attack in earnest. Whatever strategies she’d planned were derailed, she needed to fight back or get blasted from the ring. Facing Korra, Kuvira began to duel and the rest faded away. Bolin and Mako were mere distractions, Kuvira’s teammates were dancing smudges on the periphery; the crowd didn’t even exist. It was just the two of them struggling for the win.

They went blow for blow, trying to detect patterns and redundancies in the other’s movements. When Korra left herself open or attacked too aggressively, Kuvira punished her. When Kuvira threw something one too many times, Korra gave her the receipt.

A disk whizzed toward her stomach. Twisting out of the way, Korra sent five quick whips of water back. One managed to snake past Kuvira’s guard and knock her down as she snapped out a strike. Before Korra could capitalize, that last thrown disk clipped her thigh, putting her on one knee. They rolled to their feet, scrambling to catch the other off-guard.

_10,_

The round was slipping away; Bolin and Mako had knocked the waterbender two zones back but they were both fighting from zone two. 

_9,_

Kuvira’s firebender was swinging from zone one. Whichever team could knock an opponent back a sector would win.

_8,_

Despite her conditioning, Korra’s arms burned, her legs were shot, and her breaths came hard.

_7,_

Kuvira’s jaw muscles clenched, throwing the haggard panes of her face in sharp relief. 

_6,_

The last two minutes had been a sprint of a fight; they were both exhausted and battered but too stubborn to budge.

_5,_

Korra smashed a disk off its trajectory, redirecting her water into two streams flying fast towards Kuvira.

_4,_

Of course, Kuvira ducked the shots, kicking a disk toward Korra’s head as she came back to her stance.

_3,_

Bolin and Mako desperately attempted to corner the firebender in the last seconds of the round, hedging around Kuvira and Korra’s continuing brawl--

_2,_

Korra could only survive these last seconds, and only maybe slip in a lucky shot. Duck, counter, breath.

_1,_

Block, check the clock--

_Brrrrrrrrrrrr!_

The final buzzer sounded and both teams scowled, Kuvira and Korra glaring at one another over the line. One foot and a referee separated them from picking up where they left off. The coin toss would decide. If the fire-ferrets got it, Korra could knock out the waterbender. If Zaofu got it, Kuvira would try to take out Bolin. The coin twirled, glinting under stadium lights.

“Republic City University choose your element!”

Korra clenched her fist, _Yes!_ Bolin pushed her forward as Mako announced, “We choose water.” Kuvira’s dark glower spoke for her team. Her waterbender stepped into the center ring, flexing his fingers and trying to regain a semblance of bounce in his step.

It wasn’t even close.

Korra parried his first two blows, collecting the water into a swirling mass she spun low and smashed into his stomach. A dull thump signaled when he hit the floor.

“FUCK YES!” Bolin hoisted her up, jumping up and down like an excited child as the crowd cheered. Korra laughed then grimaced, feeling the aches and bruises she’d accumulated from a hard round. Her thigh especially twinged as he jostled her on his shoulders.

“Alright, alright, Bolin! You’re going to kill me!”

He plopped her down and grabbed Mako, shaking him instead. “We did it you sour-puss! We beat them!”

Korra laughed and returned to the center. She was ecstatic they won the tournament but it dovetailed with the bitter note of unfinished business. Kuvira regarded her coolly as they met in the center, sizing each other up.

After looking her up and down, Kuvira smiled. “You’re good. Not better than me, but not bad. We should settle this sometime.”

She shook Korra’s hand, winked, and walked away. Korra’s mouth dropped, matching Bolin and Mako’s.

“Bolin, did that just happen?” Mako asked under his breath.

He nodded.

Korra reeled. A brawl would be nice but she wasn’t interested in Kuvira romantically At. All. Asami was much, much more interesting. Also, Kuvira seemed cold and borderline neurotic?  

Shaking her head, Korra walked to the edge of the platform, “Come on you guys, let’s go eat and grab that trophy.” Turning back, she realized Mako and Bolin were still rooted in place, “What?”

“Korra, How do you _do_ that?” Mako accused.

“Do what?”

“First Asami, now Kuvira. What is it with you?”

“What do you mean _Asami?!_ I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She tried to scoff, but let out an awkward cough thing, “Me and Asami. Absurd.”

Bolin rolled his eyes, “Let’s just go eat.”

Korra had to admit subtlety had never been her strong suit, but she hadn’t realized she was _that_ obvious. She supposed she should be more covert even as her eyes scoured the crowd, searching for a particular face among the throng of well-wishers and teammates. The RCU team swallowed Korra for nearly ten minutes before the airbenders managed to surface to congratulate her. As Tenzin complemented her dedication, she spotted a familiar smirk over his shoulder.

The physical thrill she felt seeing Asami surprised her. Korra had wanted to be with her again since they’d parted last night but she hadn’t expected this swooping feeling in her stomach or this sudden urge to go tackle her and kiss her smug face. Asami stood a foot removed from her MMA teammates, wearing a white blouse Korra had never seen before, flattering high waisted pants, and a coy grin. Catching Korra’s eye, she delivered a fat, obvious wink, trying to fluster her in front of Tenzin.

Korra grinned back; this behavior wouldn’t do. Absently patting Tenzin on the shoulder, she strutted over to Asami, ignoring Jinora’s gigantic smile.

They were a foot removed when Korra realized they’d never really hugged before and that needed to change. Wrapping herself around Asami’s waist, she felt her emit a surprised breath before she hesitantly folded her arms over Korra’s back.

They’d touched but not like this, not this close. Asami was soft and hard all at once in a way that made her stomach flip. The dip of her waist felt like it was made for Korra’s arms and she smelled so damn good. Letting go felt wrong so Korra didn’t let go and neither did Asami. They hugged for an inappropriately long time before Korra remembered where they were. Breaking away, she flushed and looked at her feet.

Asami laughed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, “But you were so bold before.”

“Hugging is bold?”

“Depends on how long you do it for.”

Their eyes met.

“Should I not have?”

She laughed again, “Obviously you should have. If us making out was too subtle, I like you. Actually...I was thinking maybe, if you wanted to, we could--”

“ASAMI! You came!” Bolin swooped in and Korra raged _._ It seemed like Asami was going to ask her out! Fucking Bolin!

More friends and family swarmed them and Korra’s frustration neared critical mass. Winning was wonderful, but she honestly just wanted to pull Asami into a broom closet somewhere and continue where they’d left off...

It seemed the feeling was mutual, Asami’s eyes flicked over to Korra, a look of annoyance twisting her mouth into a wry smile. Bolin was oblivious as he insisted she come see them to the podium. Goodnaturedly allowing him to pull her through the crowd, she grabbed Korra’s hand, tangling their fingers together so they wouldn’t get separated.

Korra felt slightly less annoyed. She enjoyed their casual contact until Asami unwound their fingers at the platform steps. Pouting, she turned back.

“Go on, you nerd! I’ll be here when you’re done.”

“Okay. I’ll be quick,” Korra called over her shoulder, taking the steps two at a time.

Standing with Mako and Bolin, smiling wide, all three hoisting up the trophy, she felt an intense swell of pride. The last few months had been grueling but her work had amounted to something, even if she still couldn’t airbend. And she’d been lucky enough to meet Mako, Bolin, and Asami along the way. It was also really satisfying to be taller than Kuvira, one tier below on the second place platform with the Zaofu squad.

After more photos, a team meeting, and Lin yelling a bit, the team broke up. They were allowed to leave any time but there was an officially scheduled train for them the next morning. Most people were planning after parties or going bar hopping. Returning to their messy duffel bag camp, Korra searched for Asami. She assumed the crowd must have swept her up since she hadn’t been at the podium steps.

Thinking about last night again, Korra dreamily restuffed her bag. Before she’d gotten far, Bolin huffed back from the Zaofu section, breaking into her happy reverie, “Soooo guys...I met this really cool girl with the Zaofu team. Like really cool.” He began to fidget. “And she kind of invited us to the Zaofu after party, and I kinda said yes, but she also kinda mentioned Korra has to come too.”

“Me? Why do I have to come?” Korra started looking for Asami amidst the crowd. Maybe they could drive back to Republic City together...

“Well, Kuvira said I can’t go unless you come too.”

“What? Why?” She’d just spotted a dark head of hair.

“I think that’s pretty obvious,” Bolin teased. “So if you just come to this party with me, the two of us can find my dream girl.”

Butting in, Mako demanded, “And what am I? Chopped liver?”

“I mean, yeah, but that’s not the point. So will you come? Pleaaaaaassse?”

Waving big as Asami turned her way, she replied, “I thought we were all going to hang out as a group, not with captain jerk-face.” Preferably, she could hang out with Asami as a group of two. In private. Alone.

“I know, I know,” Bolin rushed. “But this girl is soooo amazing.”

“Who even is she?” Mako asked.

“Okay, so I was rushing to the bathroom--”

Korra had to interrupt. “Bolin, is this the girl you pushed over so you could go vomit?” He spluttered.

“I--uh-no...That’s also not the point! Her name is Opal and she’s lovely and beautiful and nice and can we please, please, please go to this party?”

“What party?” Korra turned, smiling at the sound of Asami’s voice.

“Asami! Come talk sense into Korra! There’s this Zaofu party I _need_ to get into so I can woo the this amazing girl but Korra has to go too.”

“Why does Korra have to come? You’re an adult.”

Mako grinned, radiating devious intent, “Kuvira seems to have taken a ‘liking’ to Korra and insists Bolin can only go if he brings her.”

Korra glared at him with a new level of hatred; what a dick! Asami’s eyes turned cold.

Before she could interject, Asami replied, “Huh, well I wouldn’t want you to miss out on that.”

...Was she jealous?

“See, Korra, it’ll be fun! Remember? Yao said Zaofu always throws the biggest parties. We can properly celebrate our victory!”

Korra sighed but then rethought. Maybe if this party was crazy enough it would be easier to escape with Asami somewhere. Much easier and less obvious than in a quiet group of four. And if the party was a large as she’d heard, it was unlikely she’d have to interact much with Kuvira.  

“Fine, Bolin. But only if Mako and Asami come too.”

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou! And of course! Let’s go!”

As Bolin pulled them out the door, Korra hooked Asami’s pinky with her own. Asami turned guarded eyes in her direction.

Letting Bolin and Mako race ahead, Korra mentioned, “Hey, I don’t like Kuvira, you know. In fact, I kind of want to punch her in the face.”

Asami’s face stayed blank, “Then why did you agree to go to this party?”

“I thought it might be easier to ditch Mako and Bolin if we were in a bigger group. I kind of wanted to just see you tonight.” Korra blushed at her feet.

“Oh.” 

“So?”

“So, I like your plan.” Korra looked up, eyes widening at Asami’s impish smile. “This will be a simple operation, you and me versus everybody. Are you ready, recruit?”

After saluting, Korra grabbed Asami’s hand, pulling her out the door.

“Of course. This will be a piece of cake.”

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the tournament scenes are gratuitous but fun? Also, Korvira will not be a thing, it's in there to move things along. The next chapter will have more Korrasami and should be out sooner. I just finished school for a little while so that should help with writing. It's been a really hard year and it's nice to write about something light (I write A LOT of angsty essays in my free time). If you want to get in touch with me, I made a tumblr because that's what people do? I'm a nerd and I don't really understand how to do all that kind of stuff. You can message me on there, but please keep writing comments! I really enjoy that people read this and it's been great reading your feedback. I'll try to keep replying.
> 
> https://womongoose.tumblr.com


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